176% rise in tenants being evicted by social landlord
THE NUMBER of people being evicted by one of Scotland’s biggest council landlords has almost tripled in two years.
Around 196 North Lanarkshire council tenants were evicted or abandoned their homes in 2015/16, compared to 71 in 2013/14 – a rise of 176 per cent.
A report by Shelter Scotland revealed the local authority had the largest percentage increase of all the Scottish council landlords, however a spokesman said it was “no surprise” given the authority has the largest number of tenants.
Overall, 20 out of the 26 councils who are landlords increased the number of evictions in the same time frame.
The figures come after the charity stated that progress on social evictions has gone into reverse.
Alison Watson, deputy director of Shelter Scotland, said: “These figures are extremely disappointing and should raise alarm bells about the way local authorities may be treating some of their most vulnerable and struggling tenants.”
A North Lanarkshire Council spokesman said: “These numbers are no surprise given that North Lanarkshire is the largest council landlord in Scotland by some distance.
“What these figures actually mean is that just half a percent of tenants were subject to eviction proceedings in North Lanarkshire.”
The report also highlighted improvements at Glasgow Housing Association (GHA) which recently changed its emphasis from legal action to early intervention.
GHA’s level of rent arrears has been reduced from £10.1million in 2007 to £6m in 2015/2016 while the number of evictions has reduced by almost 20 per cent between 2013/14 to 2015/16.
A GHA spokesman said: “We always do everything we can to help anyone having difficulty paying their rent.
“Early intervention helps us engage with tenants and support them to resolve any issues they may have, including arranging affordable payment plans for them, helping them access all the benefits they are due and offering specialist money and fuel advice.
“Eviction is always an absolute last resort.”