THE Scottish government must extend the eviction ban now, Scottish Labour demanded today, as the entire country is now under either Level 2 or Level 1 Covid-19 restrictions.

The current eviction ban in place only protects tenants in Level 3 or above, but Scottish Labour said that it is imperative that the ban be extended.

Tenants’ organisations such as Living Rent have warned of a “cliff-edge of orders to evict” in the event that all of Scotland enters Level 2. 

Statistics from the Scottish Housing Regulator show a rise in notices of proceedings being served to social housing tenants related to rent arrears of 280 per cent from June 2020 to the end of March this year.

Citizens Advice Scotland has also reported that requests for advice about arrears with private landlords more than doubled from 2019 to 2020.  

With thousands of tenants feeling the strain of the pandemic and many still on furlough, Scottish Labour is calling for the evictions ban to be extended, for the government to reform the tenant hardship loan fund and for easier access to discretionary housing payments.  

Scottish Labour housing spokesman Mark Griffin said: “Make no mistake, we are still in the midst of a pandemic and the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of Scots are on the line.  

“With the whole of Scotland only now entering either Level 2 or Level 1 and no guarantee that the country will remain at those levels, it would be deeply irresponsible to allow evictions to begin again in earnest.  

“Statistics clearly show that tenants are struggling and still need support. We cannot turn a blind eye to Scotland’s tenants in their hour of need.”