A local authority in Scotland is calling on private landlords to get in touch if they have suffered hardship as a result of Coronavirus.
Glasgow council has received £1.542m from the Scottish Government’s Tenant Grant Fund to support landlords and tenants in financial distress as a direct result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Awards should be considered where a tenant meets the following eligibility criteria:
– Tenants within the Private or Social Rented Sector who have built up rent arrears, due to Covid-19, between 23 March 2020 and 9 August 2021;
– The tenant is at risk of homelessness;
– The landlord has agreed to cease any eviction proceedings related to arrears owed upon issuance of the grant payment;
– Tenants must still reside at the property in which their arrears were accrued;
– Tenants must be aware that a grant application will be made on their behalf.
Where a tenant had arrears prior to the pandemic, then an award would only be considered where the tenant has come to an arrangement with the landlord to repay the applicable amount for arrears accrued outside the award period; and/or a landlord has agreed to write off all or part of the non-applicable arrears.
In order to ensure that there is a wide and fair distribution of grant to meet the most pressing cases, the council has divided the fund by sector according to the number of properties within each.
Applicants to the grant will be required to provide relevant evidence in support of their application including, but not limited to:
– A copy of tenancy agreement (where a private rented tenancy);
– Rent statements;
– Landlord Registration application number (for Private Rented Sector in Scotland);
– Evidence on rent recovery or tenancy sustainment actions;
– Evidence on agreed reasonable repayment plan.
A council spokesperson says: “This funding will support those people and families who have – through no fault of their own, and as a result of the pandemic – found themselves in arrears that put their tenancy in jeopardy. We will work with housing associations, private landlords and organisations across the sector to support as many tenants as possible avoid this distressing prospect.”
