On January 13, Monday, activists from the tenants’ union, Living Rent Glasgow, resisted the eviction of a tenant from the community by the landlord, Southside Lettings. The union organized a gathering in solidarity with the tenant, Philip, and also provided him legal assistance at the Tribunal Court in York Street. Following the protests and the legal intervention, the eviction was postponed till a formal tribunal hearing on February 24.
The eviction attempt took place despite the Glasgow City Council having already passed a resolution to prevent winter evictions and urging the Scottish government to take adequate steps to ensure the same.
Living Rent Glasgow claimed that “during the last winter, 45 homeless people passed away on the streets of Glasgow, and loss of tenure is the most common cause for homelessness. This does not seem to be the concern for Southside Lettings, which is the commercial arm of a direct subsidiary of Southside Housing Association, a social landlord, but we need to let them know that this is unacceptable.”
According to a report by the charity Shelter Scotland, 5,000 homeless people live on the streets of Scotland throughout the year. The Living Rent group has been running a campaign, #WinterBreak, to stop winter evictions in the country. In December as well, Living Rent activists had resisted an eviction bid by the Glasgow Housing Association (GHA).
