Evicted tenants could get cash after legal win
DOZENS of tenants removed from their Glasgow homes could get compensation after a woman won a legal fight to have her eviction quashed.
The Parkhead woman went to court after claiming Glasgow Housing Association had served an unlawful eviction notice on her.
She went to the Court of Session, Edinburgh, to have the order revoked, claiming the association did not have the legal right to throw her out of her home.
Glasgow Sheriff Court had previously granted the order after housing bosses pursued the woman for rent arrears.
But the tenant, who did not want to be named, appealed the decision on the grounds the eviction was unlawful.
She claimed the GHA did not have eviction powers transferred for cases already underway when it took over Glasgow City Council's housing stock in April 2003.
Now the association has agreed to drop its eviction plans.
Mike Dailly, of Govan Law Centre, who took up the tenant's case, said the ruling had serious implications for dozens of people already evicted by GHA.
He said: "Glasgow Housing Association conceded it had no right to have the eviction decree, so everyone it evicted under old council cases have been unlawfully evicted."
Bosses at the GHA wrote to Mr Dailly agreeing to drop the case and pay the woman's legal expenses.
Mr Dailly said dozens of evicted families had been unlawfully thrown out of their homes and he added: "I think these people should be entitled to damages."
Cases raised initially by the association after March 7 last year are not affected by the failure to transfer eviction rights, but many cases moved to the association from the council have resulted in eviction.
A GHA spokeswoman said: "There was a technical omission in the transfer documentation, which was rectified immediately it was recognised.
"We would like to make it clear that, regardless of this, those tenants owed money to Glasgow Housing Association. That fact does not change and the association can still pursue them for payment."