Meeting of the Parliament 17 March 2016
I thank Mr Johnstone for that clarification, because this is a very important issue. After all, the family home is at the heart of what we are doing today.
Another area of concern that has caused division is the initial tenancy period, and I think that most of us are happy that that has gone. I come back to the very strong evidence that Councillor Harry McGuigan gave the committee on behalf of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities on the plight of women who might find themselves having to flee domestic violence. Life is complicated; life happens to us all. Indeed, as the minister has pointed out, good and bad things can happen to people at any time. By tying people in difficult family circumstances—for example, having to move for a job or caring for someone in their family who has become ill—into that six-month period, the initial tenancy period could have been to the tenant’s detriment and caused them financial and emotional harm. I do not think that its removal will have too much of an impact, given that what we all want when a tenant agrees to a tenancy is for the landlord and the tenant to be happy and able to proceed with the tenancy in a reasonable way.
Finally, I am delighted with the minister’s announcement that there will be no fees for tenants or landlords who take cases to the housing tribunal. The measure sits very well with the commitment that the SNP Government has already given to look at having no fees for employment tribunals when we get those powers, and it shows where we sit with regard to fairness, the availability of redress to justice and ensuring that there are no barriers to the Scottish people getting justice when they require it.
17:47