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The Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Team
Under consideration PE2180: Review the procedures and case progress timelines for the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland
Calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to urgently review the current guidelines for the First-tier Tribunal Scotland, Housing and Property Chamber, and introduce case progress and hearing timelines.
Background information
The First-tier Tribunal Scotland, Housing and Property Chamber adjudicates on a range of private housing matters, including eviction order and rent arrears applications lodged by landlord applicants or their representatives. The Tribunal considers eviction requests in relation to both Scottish Government private residential tenancy agreements and historical short assured / assured tenancy agreements.
At present, there are no prescribed time periods regarding how long it will take for an eviction order application, lodged by a landlord applicant, to be listed for an initial case management discussion/hearing. The frustratingly protracted and timeless nature of the process is contrary to Article 6 of the ECHR (i.e. right to a public hearing within a reasonable time) and causes applicants extreme levels of anxiety, financial hardship and ill health. The majority of landlord applicants only own one rental property and these adverse impacts require them to repossess their sole rental properties.
421 signatures
This petition is now under consideration
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