Issued: 26 February 2010
New Bankruptcy Laws Impact on Rent Arrears
A rise in people declaring themselves bankrupt is impacting on rent arrears in Angus, the council's Neighbourhood Services committee heard at their meeting yesterday, Thursday 25 February.
Almost £90,000 in rent arrears is now unrecoverable from tenants in Angus who have applied for sequestration, the Scottish legal term for bankruptcy.
The committee heard that the sequestration process has been made easier, and tenants are now able to apply for this themselves.
Convener of Neighbourhood Services, Jim Millar said:
"We are no longer able to pursue tenants for rent arrears if they have been through a sequestration process, and their debt is wiped out after a year. This is impacting on our efforts to reduce the rent arrears.
"However, this remains an extreme step by tenants. It means that they lose any valuable property, including life assurances policies they have and it also has implications for them obtaining future credit.
"I would urge any tenants facing difficulties in paying their rent to seek advice from housing officers at the earliest possible stage."
The committee noted the report.