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Number of court actions initiated by Scottish social landlords more than doubled in July
Scottish social landlords are increasingly making moves to evict tenants as latest data from the Scottish Housing Regulator (SHR) shows a sharp spike in the number of possession notices issued and the number of court actions initiated.
A total of 376 notices of proceedings were issued for arrears to social housing tenants in Scotland in July this year. Of these 262 were sent by registered social landlords (RSLs) and 114 were sent by local authorities.
This is a 53% increase on the 245 possession claims issued for arrears by social landlords in June.
During July, social landlords initiated 89 court actions against tenants, an almost 200% increase on the number of court actions initiated in June.
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Since April, the notice period between issuing possession notices and initiating court action has been extended to six months for arrears cases and three months for anti-social behaviour cases.
Earlier this month, the Scottish government announced plans to extend these provisions until March 2021.
Since the regulator began collecting eviction data in June, Aberdeenshire Council has issued the most possession notices (181), followed by Link Group (81) and Aberdeen City Council (37).
The SHR’s latest data release also shows an increase in the number of homes being let both to homeless people and to others.
Social landlords let a combined 1,328 homes on Scottish secure tenancies to homeless people in June, up 50% from the 885 let in June.
A total of 1,876 homes were let to ‘others’ by social landlords in June, up 228% from the 571 homes let to others in June.
The data also shows a 438-person decrease on the number of Scottish housing association staff placed on furlough leave in July. A total of 1,159 staff were furloughed last month, compared with 1,597 in June.
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