The Housing (Scotland) Bill: tackling unlawful evictions in Scotland

Despite the existence of laws intended to protect tenants, Shelter continues to be contacted by households who have been unlawfully evicted from their home; made homeless due to the actions of an unscrupulous landlord. 

The Homelessness Monitoring Group has identified the issue of unlawful evictions as a priority, and Shelter looks forward to working with the group to find solutions to the problem .  However, the Housing (Scotland) Bill contains the best legislative opportunity in some time to deal with unlawful evictions comprehensively and effectively.

This briefing contains proposals for legislative reform in the bill.

• The continuation of an unregulated private rented sector throughout the late 1990s resulted in a weakening of the relationship between private landlords and the public sector.  Landlords viewed regulation as a threat to business opportunities and there was a continuing perception of landlords as being purely motivated by making money.  Of course neither caricature is wholly accurate, but a debate on the private rented sector must respond to landlords concerns; balancing that with the legal rights of tenants and the long-term health and reputation of the sector. 
• For over a generation, people living in mobile homes have had far less security than those living in permanent structures.  However, current legislation makes a distinction in rights between those who own and those who rent their mobile homes.  Public policy must accept and act on the principle that anyone who rents a mobile home should have equivalent rights as those who rent permanent structures.