Govanhill Law Centre prevents “instant” eviction of family of EU citizens without notice in Glasgow

Govanhill Law Centre (GhLC) has prevented the instant eviction of a family of European Union (EU) nationals with four young children by lodging a sheriff court appeal earlier this afternoon seeking the suspension of the eviction.

Physical ejection from the property was scheduled to take place tomorrow at 10am in Govanhill. A sheriff at Glasgow Sheriff Court has now issued a court order to temporarily suspend the ejection, in order to give the family time to secure homeless or alternative accommodation.

The client had obtained the lease of a privately let flat in Govanhill, paying a deposit and rent, only to discover they had been duped.  There is a criminal practice in Glasgow of fraudsters breaking into vacant flats and falsely letting them out to vulnerable low paid EU workers. 

Our client’s case called in court yesterday on 48 hours notice (instead of the usual 21 days). Our client accepted she would have to leave the flat but asked for a little time to find alternative accommodation. The sheriff refused to do so and granted an immediate extract decree for eviction, and dispensed with the need to serve a charge for removing. The standard practice on decree for eviction is an occupier will have 28 days before eviction by sheriff officers.

The client’s solicitor, GhLC’s senior solicitor, Rachel Moon obtained instructions for Govan Law Centre’s Mike Dailly to draft an urgent Note of Appeal today. The Note of Appeal argued that the sheriff’s decree was unlawful as it was a disproportionate interference with the client’s right to respect for her private and family life, and her home, as safeguarded by Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

There had been no proper assessment of the proportionality of the granting of an “instantly enforceable” eviction decree as was required standing European human rights jurisprudence including the case of Kay v. UK (2012) 54 E.H.R.R.  Some key facts in the case were in dispute and there was no evidential inquiry.

The court had been made aware the family could not obtain homelessness assistance from the local council upon zero notice, given the need to ingather evidence to satisfy the various residency and work tests for eligibility, and would be destitute and homeless without some period of notice. Despite this, the sheriff had granted decree, which would be immediately enforced with no notice.

Following the sheriff’s order this afternoon, the family now have an opportunity to secure alternative accommodation with the help of Govanhill Law Centre.

Govanhill Law Centre prevents “instant” eviction of family of EU citizens without notice in Glasgow

In rooting out slum private landlords, Glasgow needs contingency plans to accommodate displaced occupiers in Govanhill

A £9.3m ‘buy-out’ scheme that will bring substandard private rented sector housing into social ownership in Glasgow's Govanhill was discussed on STV Glasgow last night by Govanhill Law Centre's Senior Solicitor, Rachel Moon, and Anne Lear, Director of Govanhill Housing Association. Govanhill Law Centre (GhLC) is part of GLC.

The Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council initiative is part of a two year program whereby funds will be used to buy around 80 properties through Govanhill Housing Association. Initial stages have been to build a team of staff to investigate who is living in the properties, and public meetings have been held at some of the worst addresses to gauge the interest of landlords in selling to the housing association.

When asked about criticisms that the scheme would miss the main people it was trying to target without compulsory purchase powers, Ms Lear advised that whilst they were trying to go along the route of voluntary sales in the first instance, the council had confirmed that compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) was not ‘off the table’. The issue of using CPOs was the first case GhLC took on when it launched on 19 November 2008 in Govanhill on behalf of the then Leader of Glasgow City Council, recognising the need to tackle substandard housing in private landlord ownership. 

GLC welcomes the public money to be spent in Govanhill. All too many private landlords in the area act with impunity and exploit vulnerable residents. However, GLC believes provision must be made for those existing tenants and residents. Many of the properties targeted are in a state of disrepair, and overcrowded and existing occupiers will be displaced by the buy-out. 

Many displaced residents will have to apply for alternative accommodation through applying for a housing association property (many of whom have long waiting lists) and many will be forced to present as homeless for emergency accommodation. In the long term, hopefully there will be more sustainable and more suitable housing for the most vulnerable families in the community, but the short term consequences should not be ignored in GLC's view.  

It is understood Govanhill Housing Association share these concerns, and Govanhill Law Centre looks forward to working with the Association and other stakeholders to bring about a contingency strategy for these tenants to make sure that they don’t slip through the net.

Glasgow City Council has applied for Govanhill to obtain ‘Enhanced Enforcement Area’ status. This would give the local authority greater powers to enter and take action against recalcitrant landlords. We support this. GLC hopes that all local organisations can work together to root out the slum private landlords in the area.

Tenants are subjected to extreme disrepair, infestation and lack of services and extortionate amounts are being paid to landlords. Letting agents exist which are not real organisations. Names are registered on the Private Landlord Register which bear no resemblance to the tenancy agreement. People are being illegally evicted in increasing numbers. It will take strategic and targeted action to make sure that these private landlords are rooted out. 

We are working closely with the police to ensure that those landlords and letting agents are brought to justice under the Rent (Scotland) Act and there are a number of cases which have been reported to the Procurator Fiscal in recent weeks after a targeted approach.

  

Despite the high levels of public investment through housing benefit, and the effect on communities and tenants health and employment opportunities, there is no effective regulatory body to act as a check on the Private Rented Sector in Scotland. This is why Govan Law Centre has called upon the Scottish Government to introduce legislation to create a national regulatory body with legal teeth to raise standards and prosecute landlords and letting agents who break the law.

In rooting out slum private landlords, Glasgow needs contingency plans to accommodate displaced occupiers in Govanhill

GLC's launches free illegal eviction 'advice card' to prevent unlawful evictions in Scotland

Govan Law Centre (GLC) has produced a handy pocket-sized card for tenants in the private rented sector in Scotland to advise them of their rights against unlawful eviction and harassment. The card is for use by Police Scotland, tenant advisors and representatives, and private sector tenants.

GLC is aware of particular problems of unlawful eviction and harassment in many parts of Glasgow, but the problem itself is of course widespread across Scotland in the private rented sector. Removing a tenant from their home - changing the locks - without a court order is not only a civil wrong but a criminal offence under section 22 of the Rent (Scotland) act 1984.

GLC is working with Police Scotland to avoid any misunderstandings and confusion in practice, where private landlords break the law and often go unpunished, while tenants are illegally removed from their tenancies.

Our card was written by GLC solicitor Christine McKellar, Govanhill Law Centre solicitor Rachel Moon, and GLC's Prevention of Homelessness Project's Garry Burns.

GLC's launches free illegal eviction 'advice card' to prevent unlawful evictions in Scotland

Govanhill success for GLC's Payday Loan Survival Guide as relaunched with Glasgow University's Student Representative Council

Govan Law Centre's (GLC) Payday Loan Survival Guide has been redesigned and relaunched with the support of Glasgow University's Student Representative Council (GUSRC).  You can download the new GLC 'Breaking free from payday loan debt' leaflet here.

Working in partnership with GUSRC, we have also launched a separate Glasgow student version of the guide, which is available from GUSRC on Glasgow University's campus at the John McIntyre Building.

The guide has been used to help empower citizens to regain control of their finances and challenge unfair charges and interest whereever possible. Govanhill Law Centre (GhLC) solicitor, Rachel Moon, recently used the legal arguments in the guide to secure a fantastic outcome for a client in Glasgow's Govanhill.

GhLC's Rachel Moon, Solicitor

GhLC's Rachel Moon said: "Wonga currently have an advert showing the 'real life' stories of people who use Wonga, however the stories do not correspond with our experience with this pay day loan company and others.

Our client was hospitalised and off work and as a result receiving only statutory sick pay. Our client took out pay day loans as she was struggling to maintain her court agreed rent payment arrangement. These loans were continually rolled over incurring the additional fees and costs in addition to the high rates of interest. The money was taken directly from her account leaving her with little or no money to buy food and other necessities and certainly no money to pay her rent.

We made a complaint on behalf of our client to the 23 pay day loan companies who had given her credit in a matter of minutes. This was on the basis that the companies had not undertaken proper creditworthy assessments under the Consumer Credit Act 1974, as they are required to do and that the loans should be written off as a result. We argued that it should have been apparent from the assessment carried out that the loan was not suitable or affordable for our client.

Payday loans aren't cuddly or cheap

We have had some success and a number of the companies have confirmed that they will write off the debt in its entirety; other companies have advised that no further interest will be added to the outstanding amounts and would offer a settlement figure of capital alone. During this process, it was discovered that an administration fee was incurred when our client went through a broker website. When requested to do so, these have all been repaid within a number of days".

Govanhill success for GLC's Payday Loan Survival Guide as relaunched with Glasgow University's Student Representative Council