Why are eviction rates so high?

By Jo Perry
Central Reporter, BBC Scotland news website

Shelter Scotland says the costs of eviction are prohibitive Council to debate eviction ban

Councillors in Stirling are voting to abolish evictions due to rent arrears. If successful, they will become the first authority in Scotland to officially do so.

Those behind the motion to ban it have described the practice as "draconian" and an "attack on the poorest in our society".

So why then do councils still evict people who fall behind with their rent payments?

According to homeless charity Shelter Scotland, there were 3,577 evictions by councils and housing associations during 2007 and 2008.

Shelter maintains that more than 97% of those evictions were for tenants who had fallen into arrears.

A report published by the organisation at the end of last year said social landlords were twice as likely to seek the eviction of their tenants from the courts for arrears than mortgage lenders.

They also named North Lanarkshire, West Lothian and East Ayrshire councils as having among the highest eviction rates in the country.

Glasgow Housing Association, which took over control of the area's local authority housing stock in 2003, was the association with the highest number of evictions at 558.

In Moray 87% of the eviction decrees granted at court led to evictions. That compared with just 11% for East Lothian.

Any suggestion that housing associations callously evict people as soon as they fall behind with their rent is simply wrong Andrew Field SFHA

Shelter Scotland has also maintained that the cost of evicting a family for rent arrears could reach £20,000 when legal, re-housing and administration costs were taken into account.

The Scottish Federation of Housing Associations agreed that the cost of eviction could be "prohibitive" but said there were cases where eviction was the only option.

In a statement, they said: "The 1,484 'evictions' from housing association properties Shelter highlighted back in December represents less than 0.6% of the housing association sector 's total tenancy.

"The total number of actual evictions (as opposed to tenant abandonment) is only 931.

"And once evictions for anti-social behaviour are deducted (61), the total of actual evictions due to rent arrears by housing associations is 870, or 0.3% of all housing association tenants.

"Of the properties freed up from last resort evictions, they are nearly immediately made available to new tenants, many of whom are assessed priority homeless."

Martin Armstrong, from Glasgow Housing Association, where eviction rates are the highest in Scotland, said measures had been put in place to ensure tenants were less likely to default on rent payments.

'Early intervention'

He said: "It is our policy to help those who genuinely cannot afford to pay their rent but we will take action against those who can pay but won't pay in order to protect the interests of the vast majority of tenants who do pay their rent on time.

Kenny Simpson, a housing advisor for Cosla, the group representing Scotland's councils, argued that most local authorities tried to avoid eviction.

"Most councils still have this as a last resort action particularly where people have no intention of paying their rent and often end up absconding," he said.

"In the present climate many councils have ratcheted up their measures to prevent rent arrears in the first place by working with other agencies like Cab who have money advice workers.

"But there is always going to be a small number of people who are intent on not paying their rent. For others there is protection in the housing benefit system to ensure they have the help they need."

A spokesman for West Lothian Council said the number of evictions for the authority had fallen from a high of 92 in 2007/08 to 75 in 2008/09.

He said: "We have a policy geared towards prevention and early intervention and ensure every effort is made to sustain tenancies.

"We have a duty to all our tenants to ensure that housing rent is paid. Evictions are only implemented as a last resort and when all other avenues have been exhausted."