Scottish lawmakers ignore industry advice on evictions legislation

The Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) Bill will complete its passage through Holyrood this week and so far all attempts to retain mandatory grounds for possession have been ignored by Ministers.

Propertymark has warned the Scottish Government they are creating an unworkable legal process for possession orders due to inadequate funding of the court system to cope with landlords seeking evictions.

The consequences of the increased restrictions and bureaucracy will mean landlords will leave the market, reducing the number of homes for rent in Scotland.

The Bill will mean that from 1 October, every possession claim will continue to be subject to the judgement of the First-tier Tribunal, and an order will only be granted where the tribunal agrees the grounds exist.

All 18 grounds are currently temporarily discretionary as part of measures brought in to protect tenants during the pandemic.

Daryl McIntosh, Propertymark’s Policy Manager for the UK devolved nations, said, “We’re dismayed by the Scottish Government’s disregard for industry expertise and evidence in their progression of the Bill and its permanent removal of mandatory grounds for possession.

“We would also question whether the Scottish Government has adequately considered the full costs of removing mandatory grounds, given that no attempt appears to have been made to account for much of FTT’s operational costs that are, by the Scottish Government’s own admission, difficult to quantify.”