Five children are evicted in Scotland every day
Five children are evicted in Scotland every day
The report, Eviction of children and families: the impact and the alternatives, highlights the depth of the problem in Scotland and the devastating impact that eviction can have on the lives of children and families. It also focuses in on best practice and looks at alternatives to eviction being used by a variety of organisations across the country.
Five children a day in Scotland face the threat of homelessness due to eviction, according to a new report from Shelter Scotland.
The report, Eviction of children and families: the impact and the alternatives , highlights the depth of the problem in Scotland and the devastating impact that eviction can have on the lives of children and families. It also focuses in on best practice and looks at alternatives to eviction being used by a variety of organisations across the country.
Graeme Brown, Director of Shelter Scotland, said: 'Eviction wrecks lives, leaving families and children without a home and causing severe distress. Families who fall into arrears, more often than not, are struggling with the harsh reality of living in poverty. One family we worked with were evicted for rent arrears following a mix up with housing benefit. This led to the family being homeless for three years and moving four times to different types of temporary accommodation, which was very unsettling and upsetting; particularly for the children.
'As the full force of the recession takes hold, more families will be at risk of eviction, not just repossession. We welcome the moves the Scottish Government has made to tackle repossessions and urge similar measures be taken to reduce evictions. We want to see social landlords, the Scottish Government and advice agencies, working together to ensure eviction is only ever a last resort and prevented wherever possible. One key recommendation we have made is that an evictions summit is held so we can put our heads together to look at the best way forward.'
Shelter Scotland has issued a five point plan for the Scottish Government and social landlords to take action to avoid eviction and to ensure that it is only ever used as a last resort.
- Make sure families know about their responsibilities and what to do when things go wrong before the tenancy starts.
- Identify and act to deal with problems that may lead to rent arrears or eviction, such as unemployment, illness or relationship breakdown.
- Ensure families are receiving all the benefits and tax credits they are entitled to.
- Develop a checklist of all possible alternatives to eviction to be used when legal action against tenants is being considered.
- Organise an 'evictions summit' bringing together social landlords, the Scottish Government and advice agencies to agree alternatives to eviction and to amend legislation to help ensure it is always a last resort.