Graeme Brown: Tenants should be given equal rights against eviction

This is because the Scottish Government recently introduced legislation – the Home Owner and Debtor Protection Act – to protect homeowners from repossession.

At present, no similar measure is in place for social tenants. But in our response to the Scottish Government's recent consultation on evictions, Shelter Scotland called for legal requirements to give tenants with rent arrears the same protection from losing their home as homeowners with mortgage arrears.

Eviction is an expensive business for a local authority – as is the additional cost of rehousing the now homeless family.

A legal framework to avoid unnecessary evictions would not only be in the best interests of tenants and landlords, but also taxpayers.

The Scottish Government consultation outlines options to tackle evictions – including a voluntary protocol. But Shelter research in England shows that voluntary guidelines lack teeth, proving that light-touch regulation doesn't work.

The research into homeowner repossessions showed a third of lenders in England failed to follow voluntary guidance set out to protect people from losing their home through repossession.

It is clear that voluntary guidelines fail to protect consumers. That's why Shelter Scotland is calling for the legislative steps known as pre-action requirements.

This would mean social landlords must follow a series of steps aimed at avoiding eviction, before taking a tenant with rent arrears to court. So, for those who lose their jobs and fall behind with rent, or got caught up in housing benefit administrative errors, there would be a real safeguard to ensure eviction was a last option, not a first.

This modernisation of the evictions policy should be welcomed by those social landlords for whom eviction is already a true last resort. Let me be clear, everyone should pay their rent, but where there are problems, real alternatives to eviction include: early intervention to provide support and advice to people struggling to pay rent; working with tenants to resolve problems with arrears, for example, arranging a payment plan; and ensuring benefits are paid correctly and on time.

We know the majority of the 3,300 evictions in Scotland last year were for rent arrears. We also know that evictions are expensive, costing into the thousands in each case. In Stirling, for example, evicting 23 tenants last year cost the council more than three times as much as the rent arrears owed.

Yes, some social landlords are trying to reduce evictions and in some cases, such as Glasgow Housing Association, managing to reduce both evictions and arrears at the same time.

But only by requiring social landlords to demonstrate that they have taken every available step to prevent families becoming homeless, can we ensure that all evictions in Scotland are truly a last resort.

Putting in place a legal framework of pre-action requirements is the only option to give tenants the same protection from losing their homes as homeowners. The alternative – a voluntary protocol – may be easier for landlords, but it is not in the long-term interests of tenants or taxpayers.

Legal rights to reduce eviction are the right thing for tenants, the right thing for social landlords and the right thing for council tax payers across Scotland.

Graeme Brown is director of Shelter Scotland.