Scotland in bid to reduce evictions
The Scottish Government is looking at introducing rules that would make it much tougher for social landlords to evict tenants.
It has launched a consultation after a recommendation from the Reposessions Group, which it set up in January last year to look into rising repossessions in Scotland.
The group’s final report in June 2009 said it was important to look more closely at the eviction of social housing tenants.
Housing minister for Scotland Alex Neil said: ‘It is important to be clear payment of rent is a responsibility of every tenant, but it is equally important to be clear evicting tenants with rent arrears must always be a last resort.
‘Evictions are traumatic for tenants and their families and are often very costly for landlords and the public purse.’
Almost 20,000 social housing tenants in Scotland were taken to court in 2008/09 as a first step towards eviction for rent arrears, a government spokesperson said.
The move follows further support given to homeowners in the Home Owner and Debtor Protection (Scotland) Bill recently passed by the Scottish Parliament, which will go live this summer and means lenders need to try every possible alternative before taking legal action for repossession.
The consultation seeks to find out if there would be widespread support within the sector to require social landlords to take similar steps.
It is looking at a range of options to reduce evictions, such as a series of steps landlords would have to take before they could take a tenant to court called ‘pre-action requirements’.
Graeme Brown, director of housing and homelessness charity Shelter Scotland, said: ‘We’re heartened by the Government’s consultation paper, particularly in light of the increase in unemployment in Scotland and tightening family budgets.
‘However, only one option really delivers on that aim [to reduce evictions]. The pre-action requirement will firstly afford struggling tenants the same protection as homeowners and mean a fair and equal protection between the two groups.
‘Secondly, [it] would ensure that everything possible really has been done.’ The consultation ends on May 28.
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