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Scottish government announces £10m grant for tenants in arrears following pandemic
The Scottish government has announced a £10m package to support tenants who have fallen into rent arrears during the coronavirus pandemic.
The finance package, announced on Tuesday, follows the widespread lifting of Scotland’s eviction ban last month. The ban remains in place in areas under level three and four coronavirus restrictions until the end of September, but nowhere is currently in that category.
Announcing the measures in Scottish Parliament, deputy first minister John Swinney said: “The Scottish government has taken action from the outset to support tenants during the pandemic and I’m delighted to announce today [Tuesday] that we will go even further by committing to introduce a new £10m grant fund to support tenants who have fallen into rent arrears as a direct result of the pandemic.
“We will work towards making this grant fund available later in the year and will work with stakeholders over the coming weeks to develop the details.”
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The announcement comes after the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations called on Holyrood to begin a campaign to highlight the importance of paying rent following the lifting of the eviction ban.
The £10m package has been widely welcomed by homelessness groups in Scotland.
Crisis Scotland tweeted: “We welcome this announcement from John Swinney – as the economic impact of the pandemic hits it’s vital that we work to prevent more and more people being pushed into homelessness.”
Homeless Network Scotland said: “Debt spirals. This new £10m fund announced by John Swinney can help prevent that with grants instead of loans and give people hardest hit by the pandemic a fighting chance.”
