Edinburgh to lobby for change in the law so perpetrators of domestic abuse can be evicted

PERPETRATORS of domestic abuse could face eviction under proposals being pursued by the city council.

Under current legislation local authorities do not have the power to evict those responsible for domestic violence or abuse.

But more than 300 women a year in Edinburgh flee their homes to escape domestic violence.

Scottish Women’s Aid has been campaigning for a change in the law for some time.

And now councillors in the Capital have agreed to lobby the Scottish Government to make the change necessary to allow the authority to remove perpetrators of abuse from their tenancies.

Scottish Women’s Aid say too often policies are based on the assumption that women experiencing domestic abuse will leave their home while the abusing partner is able to stay on.

According to statistics, domestic abuse is the biggest cause of women’s homelessness in Scotland, with 78 per cent of homelessness applications from women in 2017-18 giving the reason as “a dispute within the household (violent or abusive)” - and more than half had children on their application.

The council’s SNP/Labour administration accepted a call from the Greens and Lib Dems at the policy and sustainability committee to make representations to the Scottish Government to amend the Housing (Scotland) Act to grant councils the ability to evict perpetrators of domestic abuse from tenancies.

Green councillor Alex Staniforth said: “Obviously it is very important victims’ safety and security is considered over the perpetrators of domestic abuse.

“It won’t always be suitable that we evict the perpetrator but in cases where it is councils should have that power.

“That’s in the hands of the Scottish Government so it seems sensible as a council we should lobby the Scottish Government to change the law, change the rules so we can make sure in every case we put the needs of victims first.”

Lib Dem group leader Robert Aldridge endorsed the proposal.

He said: “It’s really important we have a focus on ensuring the victim of domestic abuse is at the centre of our policy and that it is the perpetrator who has to move where that is appropriate.

“I hope we can persuade the Scottish Government to make some time to enable this important amendment to legislation to happen to help protect people who are experiencing a domestic abuse situation.”

SNP housing convener Kate Campbell welcomed the move. She said: “It is absolutely tragic when someone has experienced domestic abuse and then has to leave their home and the perpetrator gets to keep the home.”

She said the change would have to cover not just shared tenancies but situations where a person has been living in the house for an extended period.

“Obviously if they’re in an abusive relationship it’s quite likely the abuser will try and prevent them from getting onto the tenancy.

“I think it’s quite complex and there’s quite a lot of work to be done around it, but it’s something we do need to make our views clear on to the Scottish Government.”

A report by housing officials said there were issues around the way victims of domestic abuse were treated in relation to housing.

It said: “Until recently, it has been fairly standard practice that if someone was fleeing domestic abuse, they were encouraged to present as homeless.

“Presenting as homeless can be traumatic, which meant that many victims chose to stay in an abusive relationship, or put themselves in a position of uncertainty and potential separation from their existing support networks in order to leave the perpetrator.”

The report said over the last five years, an average of 300 people a year in Edinburgh had presented as homeless, stating that they were fleeing violence from a partner.

That represented around 8.6 per cent of the average 3,480 homeless presentations a year, the report noted.

“It is acknowledged that many people do not cite domestic abuse as a reason for presenting as homeless - sometimes citing relationship breakdown or other issues - and it is thought that the number of people effectively homeless due to domestic abuse is higher.”

The report also said: “Due to current legislation, it is not possible to evict a perpetrator of domestic abuse, when the tenancy is joint, and held in both names.

“While certain measures can be applied for to prevent the perpetrator remaining in the family home, e.g. bail conditions, Non-Harassment Orders etc, it should be noted that the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 would need to be updated in order to allow councils and registered social landlords to evict the perpetrator.”

Scottish Women’s Aid said it was not only women but children as well who suffered.

One abuse victim, from another local authority area in Scotland, told of her experience: “I think if I had known back then, I wouldn’t have moved because my daughter was settled. She was in her school, she had a house, she had all her friends and then I had to move away from the area I was brought up in as well.

“So it was a big change for me and for the kids and then she had to start all over again. She went to a new school when we were in Women’s Aid and then when we got put into homeless it was getting taken back and forward to school, which they only did that for so long. And then she had to miss out on school and then when we were moving to where we are now it was a different school again.”

A spokeswoman for Scottish Women’s Aid said: “Domestic abuse remains the leading cause of women’s homelessness in Scotland because current housing policy and practice responses are still based on expecting women and children experiencing domestic abuse, rather than perpetrators, to leave their homes.

“Women who have experienced domestic abuse are often told that their only option when separating from an abuser is to make a homeless application.

“Being forced to become homeless adds to the trauma of domestic abuse and comes at a financial and emotional cost for women and their children.

“We have been in discussions with the Scottish Government for some time about making it easier for all social landlords, including local authorities, to remove perpetrators of abuse from the home.

“This would make an immediate and significant difference for women, children and young people experiencing domestic abuse and we welcome the move by Edinburgh City Council in favour of these measures.”