SFHA responds to the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022

SFHA submitted a response to a call for evidence on Tuesday to the Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel & Tenants’ Rights on the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) Act. The call for evidence sought feedback on the Act’s current moratorium on the enforcement of eviction orders in the social rented sector. The Scottish Government will use responses to inform a statutory report to Parliament due in July, to consider whether the provisions remain necessary and proportionate with the cost-of-living emergency.

SFHA said that housing associations and co-operatives build the best homes for affordable rent in Scotland, maintain them to an excellent standard, and support tenants whenever necessary. Providing preventative, early-stage intervention to people struggling to pay rent in times of crisis is an important piece of this work. We emphasised that the approach of housing associations is that no one should be evicted from a housing association home because of financial hardship where they are engaging with their landlord to get rent payments back on track. We expressed members’ concerns that accumulated arrears of £2,250—as specified in the Act’s provisions—are difficult for many social housing tenants to manage and may lead to increased stress and lower wellbeing.

We advised that tenant protection policy during the cost-of-living crisis should be focussed on a) preventative, early-stage engagement that we know are successful in keeping tenants in their homes, and b) a ‘no evictions into homelessness’ partnership approaches between housing associations and local authorities.

Thanks to our members who attended the roundtable and shared evidence with us.