NEARLY 700 tenants have faced court proceedings from private landlords to remove them from properties since the Scottish Government imposed an eviction ban in September that has been branded a "travesty", it can be revealed.

Scotland's biggest housing association and social landlord Wheatley Group alone has obtained 86 eviction court orders over rent arrears allowing recovery of possession involving tenants since former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced the ban on September 6.

They also issued 47 notices of eviction for rent arrears on social housing tenants between the announcement and February 28.

According to the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service there have been at least 675 applications for evictions from private landlords dealt with in the First-Tier Tribunal for Scotland since the eviction ban was announced till the end of March.

There are currently a further 334 eviction hearings involving tenants scheduled to be heard over the next four months, according to court rolls.

It is understood that at least 125 social housing tenants have been evicted from their homes since the laws were put in place.

Housing campaigners say that the eviction ban 'failure' will escalate a homelessness crisis.

Earlier this month, the Scottish Government confirmed a moratorium on evictions plus a rent cap would remain in place until September.

The Herald:

The Scottish Tenants Organisation said: "The eviction ban which promised to protect social tenants from homelessness is a travesty giving tenants a false sense of security which was a cruel and barbaric act when tenants with severe financial problems such as rent arrears caused by the existential cost of living crisis.

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"Hundreds of tenants and families are subject to eviction and homelessness which is unconscionable in a cost of living crisis. Landlords should be helping tenants."

The First Minister announced plans for an eviction ban and an immediate rent freeze for social housing and private tenants while branding the cost of living crisis a "humanitarian emergency".

Launching the support for tenants last year under the Programme for Government she said it "will aim to give people security about the roof over their heads...".

But there have been serious concerns over loopholes in the eviction ban brought in through the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Bill 2022 which do not prevent tenants being turfed out.

READ MORE: Shelter call for Scots housing minister to tackle homes 'emergency'

Landlords can apply for and be granted a valid eviction notice and issue it during the ban and will be able to force tenants out when the moratorium ends in September. The moratorium also does not apply to those with arrears of six months or more or social tenants with debts of more than £2,250. The average household arrears in Scotland is believed to be running at over £4000.

Tenants can also be evicted where a private landlord needs to either sell or live in the property due to financial hardship.

It comes as Scotland's housing regulator warned of an "emerging risk of systematic failure" in local authority homelessness services as some councils are finding it increasingly difficult to meet the challenges of providing services for those who are homeless and meet their statutory duties.

The Herald:

There were 28,944 open homelessness cases in September, 2022 - the highest since Scottish Government records began in 2002. The figures were an 11% rise on the previous year.

Aditi Jehangir, Living Rent secretary said: "When the eviction moratorium ends and the court orders come into effect, hundreds of tenants will be forced from their homes, escalating the homelessness crisis. The government needs to step in to support these tenants, increase the emergency funding and review grounds for eviction.

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"Tenants are also being evicted now. Despite rising costs, tenants in arrears are being forgotten. Landlords are able to force tenants out of their homes despite the eviction ban for arrears of only £2,250. Though landlords have a duty to support tenants on arrears, this duty is clearly being forgotten.

"Tenants need a higher threshold for all arrears and an increase to the Tenant Hardship Fund to support tenants struggling to stay in their homes. Scotland needs to introduce greater protections and support for tenants to ensure no one is evicted."

Housing regulators forecast that rent arrears within the over 550,000 socially rented properties in Scotland are to peak in 2022/23 having hit £169.6m at the end of March, 2022, which amounts to 6.3% of the amounts due.

Under the Scottish Government plans to extend emergency provisions to tackle the cost-of-living crisis, for private landlords a rent freeze would be replaced by a cap from April.

Private landlords will be allowed to raise rents by a maximum of 3% but they can apply to Rent Service Scotland to increase the figure to 6% if they have a valid reason.

Social landlords are required to keep any rent increases below inflation in 2023-24.

But according to housing regulator data, rents for some of the nation's most vulnerable are to soar by up to 8%.

Rent rises approved by over 100 housing associations in Scotland are at an average of 5.34% and range between 0% and 8%.

Sean Clerkin, campaign co-ordinator of the STO believed Patrick Harvie, the tenants rights ministers should resign over the matter saying: "So many tenants lives are being made a living hell and he was claiming kudos for a non-existent eviction ban. It is time for him to go."

A Wheatley Group spokesperson said: “Our housing officers have been supporting thousands of people through these challenging times. This includes everything from arranging affordable payment plans to help with benefits, Universal Credit, cutting fuel bills and delivering free emergency food parcels and household essentials. 

“We only take a case to court as a very last resort and only after all attempts at engaging with the customer have failed.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Our emergency legislation has given tenants additional protection during these challenging and uncertain economic times. It has gone further than anywhere else in the UK in helping to protect tenants across the rental sector.

“The emergency legislation introduces additional restrictions against the enforcement of eviction. Under these measures, a notice to leave can still be served, and an application for eviction can be made to the Tribunal or Court, but enforcement of the eviction must be paused for up to six months except in certain circumstances. This gives the tenants affected additional time to access support and find alternative accommodation during the cost of living crisis.

“This protection has been extended to 30 September - provided it remains necessary - with the option to extend for another six-month period if required."

 

“We have already introduced permanent changes through the Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Act to strengthen protections against eviction. These measures aim to ensure that private landlords take steps to sustain tenancies through pre-action protocols for rent arrears before taking a case to the Tribunal and have made all grounds for repossession discretionary ensuring that Tribunals consider the reasonableness of granting an eviction.”