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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Council backs arrear eviction ban | Council backs arrear eviction ban |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Stirling Council has become the first local authority in Scotland to ban the practice of evicting tenants who fall behind in rent payments. | Stirling Council has become the first local authority in Scotland to ban the practice of evicting tenants who fall behind in rent payments. |
| A motion, which called the evictions "draconian", was backed by councillors at a meeting on Thursday evening. | A motion, which called the evictions "draconian", was backed by councillors at a meeting on Thursday evening. |
| The move came after figures showed the authority had evicted 23 such tenants in 2008. | The move came after figures showed the authority had evicted 23 such tenants in 2008. |
| Homeless charity Shelter Scotland has urged other councils to follow Stirling's lead. | Homeless charity Shelter Scotland has urged other councils to follow Stirling's lead. |
| The motion was raised by the council's housing convener Alasdair MacPherson and his SNP colleague Jim Thomson. | The motion was raised by the council's housing convener Alasdair MacPherson and his SNP colleague Jim Thomson. |
| Mr MacPherson said: "This Council evicted 23 tenants for rent arrears last year, in some cases families with children were involved. | Mr MacPherson said: "This Council evicted 23 tenants for rent arrears last year, in some cases families with children were involved. |
| "Evictions of this sort are draconian and like warrant sales, which were banned in 2000, this practice needs to be confined to the history books." | "Evictions of this sort are draconian and like warrant sales, which were banned in 2000, this practice needs to be confined to the history books." |
| 'Devastating impact' | |
| The motion to ban the evictions was passed by a vote of 17 for and four against. | The motion to ban the evictions was passed by a vote of 17 for and four against. |
| Mr MacPherson added that the ban would not become a "cheats' charter" and said a yearly review would be conducted to assess its effect. | |
| Graeme Brown, director of Shelter Scotland, said he was "delighted" by the move. | |
| He added: "Our recent research into evictions by councils and housing associations demonstrated the importance of avoiding eviction and the devastating impact it can have on families. | |
| "Almost 3,600 tenants across Scotland were evicted by social landlords over 2007/2008 - that is almost 10 people a day. | |
| "We hope that other local authorities and housing associations will follow Stirling's lead." |