It may be just the first days of June but some politicians are already agitating for a winter eviction ban.
Green Party Member of the Scottish Parliament Maggie Chapman has made an unsuccessful bid to include such a ban in the Housing (Scotland) Bill, currently going through the Scottish Parliament.
It would have prevented landlords from evicting renters between November and March.
In 2022, the Scottish Greens – then part of the Scottish government – imposed such a ban on private landlords.
Now Chapman tells the media in Scotland: “It is shameful that the Scottish Government has voted against a winter evictions ban. While we may be approaching summer with the coldest months ahead far from our minds, for people at risk of homelessness, the threat of a winter without a roof over their heads is real and fast approaching.
“Every winter, too many people and families are kicked out of their homes, sometimes for unwarranted reasons by landlords who don’t take their obligations seriously.
“We live in an era of sky-rocketing rents, high utility bills and low wages that don’t keep pace. The cost of living crisis is still very much with us. Renters need protections just as much as they did when inflation was at its height.
“But instead of giving renters more rights, the Scottish Government has made it clear that it is on the side of landlords.
“It has favoured the wealthy over working people, which will only serve to deepen inequality and put more people at risk of homelessness.
“I will bring these important protections back at [a later stage] of the Bill, giving the Government and opposition parties the chance to protect people and their families facing crisis, and help to ease the ongoing housing emergency in Scotland.”
This article is taken from Landlord Today