Scottish Greens urge landlords to stop evictions during winter

Scottish Greens urge landlords to stop evictions during winter

0:02 AM, 27th December 2024, About A year ago 19

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The Scottish Greens are demanding that ALL landlords halt evictions during the winter months to show “compassion and kindness.”

The party, which was in a coalition with the SNP, previously supported an eviction ban that lasted until March this year, pausing evictions for six months.

The Scottish Green Party claims that the end of this eviction ban will leave more tenants at risk of homelessness.

Urge every landlord to be compassionate this winter

Scottish Greens spokesperson for housing Ariane Burgess MSP, claims the eviction ban will hurt tenants.

She said: “We brought in a rent freeze and evictions ban in 2022 to ease the financial pressures and stress of insecure tenancies for people during the pandemic.

“Now, both the freeze and ban have ended. The forthcoming Housing Bill should offer stronger rights for tenants, but I fear that what we will get is a watered down version of the bill by the Scottish government.

“This winter there is a real threat of more tenancies ending abruptly and more people facing homelessness as a result. That is why we need robust and permanent protections.

“In the meantime, I urge every landlord and others across the rental sector to be compassionate this winter; to avoid evictions and ensure that everyone has a warm, safe place to call home over the festive season and beyond.”

Number of tenants facing eviction was more than double

Critics have called the Scottish government’s previous eviction ban and rent cap a “sham,” pointing out that the number of tenants facing eviction was actually more than double the usual amount while the ban was in place.

David Alexander, the chief executive of DJ Alexander, said of the eviction ban: “Unfortunately this situation was entirely predictable but is terrible news for thousands of tenants who have been let down by a policy which has never been shown to work anywhere and is always detrimental to the renters.

“No country in the world has been able to make a rent freeze and eviction ban work because such policies always result in a reduction of the available number of properties resulting in greater demand and higher rents.

“Anecdotally the rent freeze coupled with an eviction ban may also have led some tenants to believe that they no longer needed to pay rent as they could not lose their home.

“This is not the case as so many hundreds of people are finding out.”

Despite clear evidence that rent controls don’t work, the Scottish government plans to introduce a new rent cap system through the Scottish Housing Bill, which passed its first reading earlier this year.


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Norman Elkington

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Member Since January 2014 - Comments: 3

12:26 PM, 27th December 2024, About A year ago

Perhaps the Scottish parliament or the Greens will pay their rent and anything owed over the period!

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Helen

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Member Since March 2020 - Comments: 182

12:29 PM, 27th December 2024, About A year ago

So if you issue a S21 on Jan 2nd, it will be at least March before the tenants have to leave, therefore the Spring. However with inevitable delays of up to a year you might get a bailiff appointment next Winter. Landlords have no control over the timing.

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Andrew Holmes

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Member Since May 2015 - Comments: 51

13:37 PM, 27th December 2024, About A year ago

With the vast majority of landlords only having a single property income, and probably with a mortgage, how does that work?

People will literally be going to work to put a roof over someone else’s head, who may not be working themselves.

Another example of private landlords taking up the slack of local councils and government, and being expected to do it for free, will there be any support from any party if a landlord did this ?

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MartinR

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Member Since December 2019 - Comments: 18

15:20 PM, 27th December 2024, About A year ago

They are not called “Greens” for nothing.

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Jimmy Smith

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Member Since August 2023 - Comments: 26

15:49 PM, 27th December 2024, About A year ago

They are “demanding” Are they dictators like starmer.?
Why don’t they ask nicely?

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Blodwyn

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Member Since August 2016 - Comments: 508

16:31 PM, 27th December 2024, About A year ago

Fine and dandy, are the Scottish Greens underwriting the rent arrears mounting up?

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Jack Jennings

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Member Since May 2024 - Comments: 90

16:52 PM, 27th December 2024, About A year ago

Another example of government getting confused between the private rental sector and social housing. As has been said in other posts, anyone being evicted due to rent arrears should just ask their council to show them some compassion and pay their debts ?

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The_Maluka

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Member Since May 2015 - Comments: 2144 - Articles: 1

18:08 PM, 27th December 2024, About A year ago

Reply to the comment left by Jimmy Smith at 27/12/2024 – 15:49
Ask nicely! The answer would still be no.

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Downsize Government

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Member Since February 2020 - Comments: 360

18:11 PM, 27th December 2024, About A year ago

It’s easy to show compassion with someone else’s money. If they are that concerned they can reach into their pockets and pay for it themselves.

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Freda Blogs

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Member Since July 2013 - Comments: 751

18:54 PM, 27th December 2024, About A year ago

I have no doubt that most PRS Landlords would have compassion and not evict in winter – if at all – had successive governments, both English and Scottish, not effectively decimated the PRS through its legislative reform and put many obstacles in the way of obtaining possession when required. LLs are at the end of their tether and their financial rope, & cannot keep absorbing cost after cost.
If the Scottish Greens want compassion from LLs, try exercising some first, instead of always promoting punitive proposals which will always hurt Landlords, but will hurt tenants too.

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