Repossession of Residential Property: Protection of Tenants consultation response

Shelter Scotland strongly supports the intention behind this paper: to provide adequate protection to tenants who are the innocent victims of their landlord’s failure to pass the rent on to the lender.

We have pressed this matter in both England and Scotland and are pleased that the Scottish Government has recognised the need to take action. However, we are not persuaded, at this stage, that the Scottish Government has adequately reviewed all of the potential options for action in this area; so, in this response we have been unable to follow the structure set out in the consultation. We do not see this observation as a reason for further delaying legislative action, although we recognise that there are at least three potential legislative vehicles in the next six months.

However, we do strongly recommend that the Scottish Government seek to convene a meeting of those members of the Repossessions Working Group who have expressed an interest in this area. We regard that as more likely to lead to robust and consensual proposals on the way forward.