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Scottish government announces £10m fund for those struggling to pay rent due to COVID-19

A new £10m fund will be made available by the Scottish government for those struggling to pay their rent due financial difficulties caused by the COVID-19 crisis.

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Scottish government also confirmed renters in arrears will be given six months’ notice (picture: Getty)
Scottish government also confirmed renters in arrears will be given six months’ notice (picture: Getty)
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A new £10m fund will be made available by the Scottish government for those struggling to pay their rent due to the COVID-19 crisis #UKhousing

Landlords in Scotland will soon only have to give one month's notice when evicting for anti-social behaviour #UKhousing

Scottish housing minister Kevin Stewart announced today the new ‘Tenant Hardship Loan Fund’ which will provide interest-free loans to those unable to access other forms of support for their housing costs.

The fund is set to open in November and further details of how to apply will be announced in due course.

Alongside the new fund, the Scottish government will increase the Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) fund, which can be accessed by tenants in receipt of benefits, by £3m – bringing the total to £19m.


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Mr Stewart also confirmed that the provisions put in place at the start of the coronavirus crisis to ensure renters are given six months’ notice when being evicted for arrears will be extended until March 2021.

However, the extended notice period for anti-social behaviour evictions will not continue until next year. This means that from the end of September, landlords will only have to give one month’s notice if evicting for anti-social behaviour.

The announcement came as Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon laid out her programme for government for 2020/21, which included the promise of a youth job guarantee and a £100m Green Jobs Fund.

Mr Stewart said: “Tackling inequality and supporting people is a central theme of this year’s programme for government and this package of support for tenants is part of that.

“We already know that the pandemic has hit the lowest earners hardest and the Scottish government has already put in place a range of actions in place to support tenants.

“This new £10m fund, along with a further increase in our Discretionary Housing Payment funds, will mean that no one should be left in a position where they cannot access support to pay their rent…

“We have been clear that no landlord should evict a tenant because they have suffered financial hardship due to the pandemic. I fully expect landlords to be flexible with anyone facing such challenges, signposting them to the sources of financial support available, and tenants in difficulty should engage with their landlord and seek advice on the options open to them.

“I can confirm today that emergency legislation will be extended to ensure no evictions can take place until March 2021.

“However since the initial legislation was introduced, we have listened carefully to tenants and housing authorities concerned that a three-month notice period is too long where tenants have behaved in an anti-social or criminal way.

“We are therefore reverting back to a one-month period for repossession for such cases to ensure we can protect other tenants, neighbours and landlords who should not have to tolerate such behaviour.”

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