Inside Housing – News – The Scottish Housing Secretary will define the obligations of social landlords in relation to domestic violence

The Housing Bill is currently undergoing its first stage of scrutiny in the Scottish Parliament.

In addition to domestic violence policy, the Act places an ‘ask and act’ duty on social landlords, health boards and the police to ask about a person’s housing situation and take action to prevent them from becoming homeless where possible.

In addition, when selecting tenants, social housing landlords must give preference to people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness (i.e. likely to become homeless within six months).

McLennan said: “Scotland already has the toughest homelessness laws in the UK, but domestic violence is the leading cause of women’s homelessness and we want to make sure no one experiences the trauma of losing their home to violence.

“Financial violence is an important element of coercive control in situations of domestic violence. Research suggests that 89% of women experience financial abuse as part of domestic violence.

“The measures in the Housing Bill aim to ensure that people experiencing domestic violence living in social housing are supported to stay at home or find new accommodation if they wish. Furthermore, rent arrears caused by domestic violence do not prevent victims from accessing social housing in the future.”

McLennan’s speech came after landowners criticized the Housing Bill, saying it “undermines confidence” in rural housing providers.

The project’s promise of long-term rent control was also a concern for housing cooperatives, who fear that the measures introduced may affect the profitability of mid-market lease agreements.

I am talking with Inside the case Earlier this month, McLennan said the bill’s main themes – rent control, tenants’ rights and homelessness prevention – were still “the right areas that we need to engage in,” but discussions with other parties about the “structure” of the legislation were ongoing.

“One of the key issues is to make sure the bill passes through parliament,” he said. “I need that political support, so the discussions will continue.”

Last week, housing organizations including the Chartered Institute of Housing, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Homes for Scotland launched the Housing Emergency Action Plan, which called on the First Minister to prioritize reducing the number of children in emergency accommodation.