At Citizens Advice we believe people should be able to live in a decent, affordable and safe home. We know there is a shortage of housing in Argyll and Bute and that is why the Council took the unprecedented step last year in announcing a local housing emergency.
Nationally there is a shortage of housing and finding an affordable place to call home can be really challenging. When someone is facing eviction; worried about paying their rent, or living in a damp or mould ridden property, they too are facing their own housing emergency.
Facing Eviction
Facing eviction is a terrifying prospect that most people hopefully won’t ever experience. Sadly, for one local tenant, a pensioner who lived alone and had been renting her home privately since 2007, eviction was what she faced. Her landlord decided that they wanted to sell the property and as the tenant, she had to find somewhere else to live with less than 3 months’ notice.
Living in one place for such a long time, it is no wonder that this tenant considered the area her home and the prospect of moving house, let alone moving out of the area was understandably very distressing.
Thankfully this tenant turned to the local Citizens Advice for advice and support. The Adviser set about contacting the Council’s homelessness team and also a local housing association to work out welfare benefit entitlements, looking into what was available and suitable.
Rents for other properties were also found to be quite a bit higher, fortunately a welfare benefits check showed that financial help was available. It was an extremely worrying time, but thankfully securing a tenancy with a local Sheltered Housing Association meant this tenant could stay the area and her dog was welcome too.
Not all cases end as well as this, and other temporary housing options may need to be explored, but with the help of Citizens Advice, people facing the prospect of eviction can be assured of access to priority, free, impartial and confidential advice, which is absolutely essential for anyone faced with their own housing emergency.
Damp, mould and poor housing
Poor housing conditions don’t make for a safe or comfortable home. Unfortunately, Citizens Advice often has to provide advice to private as well as social rented tenants living in Argyll and Bute on those very issues.
Mould and dampness in a house can have very serious implications and all landlords, private and social rented sectors are required to provide properties that meets the ‘tolerable standard’, in this respect, that means homes must be substantially free from rising or penetrating damp.
Recently a tenant who rented his home from a social landlord got in touch with Citizens Advice about the damp in his home. He had lived in the property for just a couple of years, but the damp was so bad, his GP diagnosed that it was affecting his health.
Fortunately, the tenant managed to secure another rental property nearby with another social landlord, but his health had, sadly already been affected. Another tenant living with her young child in social rented housing contacted Citizens Advice for advice on the dampness in her flat.
Health professionals advised that the child had to move bedroom as it was considered uninhabitable due to mould growth on the wall. Advising this tenant of her rights, it was clear to the Adviser that her flat and the difficulty obtaining other suitable housing was having a terrible impact on the client’s mental health as well worrying about the dampness.
Rising Rent
Rent rises are another dread, after what has seemed like endless rises in the everyday essentials. With legislation on rent increases changing, tenants may be wondering whether a rent rise is fair or not; or even wondering what the other changes brought about by the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) Act ending and means for them.
Click on the link below for in depth guidance on this:
The landlord wants to increase the rent - Citizens Advice Scotland
Jen Broadhurst, local CAB manager commenting said,
“Decent quality, affordable and safe housing is a necessity, and at Citizens Advice we want to provide access to free and confidential advice no matter what the housing issue is.
Getting advice in a timely manner is important and we would particularly encourage anyone receiving formal notification of a change to their tenancy to seek advice”.
Citizens Advice would encourage anyone facing rent increases, or any other changes to their tenancy to make time to check that what is proposed is fair and legal. Tenants wondering whether their rent rise is fair, are encouraged to visit the Citizens Advice website, or get in touch with Argyll and Bute Citizens Advice. Contact details are below.
The local CAB is here for anyone living in Argyll and Bute; advice is free, impartial and completely confidential. Argyll and Bute Citizens Advice Bureau Telephone 01546 605550
For more information visit www.abcab.org.uk
Argyll & Bute CAB is a Scottish Charity Number: SC030477 and is also Company Limited by Guarantee Number: SC231152
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Business Improvement DIstrict (BID) Manager - Business Improvement District - Fort William
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