Meeting of the Parliament 04 October 2022
I will make a little progress on eviction measures and will let members in in a moment or two.
Again, it is vital that the emergency legislation reflects a range of circumstances that tenants and landlords face, and ensures that responsible landlords continue to offer properties in the private rented sector.
In recognition of those factors, as was the case with the eviction measures in the coronavirus legislation, we have allowed for a number of exemptions from the moratorium. Those are a mixture of existing eviction grounds and new temporary grounds for eviction that we have developed. They include allowing evictions in cases of criminal or antisocial behaviour, to protect other tenants and neighbours from behaviour that can have a hugely damaging impact on communities; in cases in which a tenant has abandoned a property; in cases of repossession by lenders, to ensure continued lender confidence in the sector; and in cases in which a landlord intends to sell or live in the property specifically in order to alleviate financial hardship or to prevent their own homelessness. Those last two grounds are new. In effect, they are versions of existing grounds but have the important caveat that financial hardship must be demonstrated. We will work with the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland to support the implementation of that.
I invite Mr Balfour to come in.