Concerns over evictions during coronavirus pandemic as case of mother and disabled son raised in Holyrood
CONCERNS have been raised over winter evictions during the coronavirus pandemic after the case of a mother and her disabled son was raised in Holyrood.
Lorraine RobinsonMoseley and her 23-yearold son are due to be evicted from their home in Livingston on Wednesday.
But the 46-year-old wants to be given just a few more weeks to ensure council accommodation for her son, who is severely autistic, will be ready.
It comes despite official guidance that there should be no evictions in level three and four coronavirus areas. West Lothian is in level four.
Ms Robinson-moseley told The Herald: “I’m not doing this just to fight for fighting’s sake. I’m doing this to ensure that my son’s needs are met.”
She said she did not know what will happen if the eviction goes ahead
on Wednesday. Her son cannot live independently, she said, and the property he is due to move into is being adapted for his needs and is not due to be ready until January.
Ms Robinson-moseley is being supported by the Living Rent tenants’ union. Her situation was raised by Scottish Green MSP Andy Wightman at First Minister’s
Questions.
He called on SNP ministers to follow the lead of the UK Government and introduce a ban on evictions this winter.
He said: “Nobody should be evicted from their home this winter, let alone a family who need only a few weeks to ensure that specialist accommodation is ready before they leave their home of 11 years.
“Despite claims by ministers that an ‘eviction ban’ is in place, we have seen nearly 300 evictions since the summer.
“My constituent’s landlords have the full protection of the law in carrying out this forced eviction in an area with tier four restrictions.”
A solicitor acting for Ms Robinson-moseley’s landlords said the property was “previously our clients’ home”.
She said: “Due to their financial position they require to live in it again. Notice of their wish to get the property back was given as early as 2018.
“The tenants have therefore known of this since at least that date. Recovery proceedings through the First-tier Tribunal: Housing and Property Chamber were concluded on July 31, 2020. Because of when the case started, it predates the emergency provisions introduced under the Coronavirus (Scotland) Act 2020, not that this legislation provides for anything approaching a ban on evictions. The tenants in this case were legally represented throughout. The order for possession was agreed to by the tenants and their solicitors.
“Despite the financial difficulties they would face as a result of a delay, our clients agreed not to evict the tenants before November 30, which was the date the tenants then requested. This was not something they required to do.
“Our clients understand that the tenants already have a tenancy to another property and their son has a tenancy to yet another property. The stress caused by the delays in getting their home back is affecting our clients’ health and everything they are doing is lawful, judicially sanctioned and was agreed to by the tenants.”