Scottish Greens welcome eviction ban extension
The Scottish Greens have welcomed confirmation that the ban on evictions will be extended following pressure from Ross Greer MSP.
The West Scotland MSP had challenged the First Minister to extend the ban after Monday's lockdown announcement, saying that evicting people during this fresh outbreak would be “downright dangerous”.
Following today's announcement, the Greens have now called on the Scottish Government to introduce a permanent ban on evictions every winter, a measure which is commonplace across Europe.
Ross Greer MSP said:
“The winter eviction ban, introduced following pressure from tenants’ groups such as Living Rent and discussions between the Scottish Government and Green MSPs, gave protection and peace of mind to those at risk of homelessness this winter. We certainly welcome the government's response to our call for the ban to be extended in light of the lockdown and this third wave of the virus. It would have been grossly unjust and downright dangerous to have people losing their homes during a lockdown, so I’m grateful the minister has ensured that won’t be the case.
“Scotland is decades behind many of our European neighbours when it comes to tenants’ rights. Protections like a winter eviction bans are commonplace across the continent. Chucking people out of their homes in the cold of winter should be unacceptable whether there's a pandemic raging on or not. So, while we warmly welcome the extension of the emergency ban, the Greens want to see the Housing Minister to go further, ensuring winter evictions are permanently banned.”