There must be a better way to tackle problems of debt and anti-social behaviour than this

Gavin Corbett Shelter Scotland

Shelter's comments came after new figures suggested a 66% rise in housing association evictions in the past three years to an annual figure of almost 600.

The charity said rent arrears was the main reason cited for evicting tenants.

Shelter said housing associations, with four evictions in every 1,000 tenancies, were now evicting twice as many tenants as councils.

It described the trend as "worrying" because successive governments have viewed associations as the best way to provide affordable housing for rent.

Gavin Corbett, head of campaigns for Shelter Scotland, said: "These figures show that every week 10 tenants of housing associations or co-operatives in Scotland lose their homes.

Expensive accommodation

"It comes on top of information which Shelter published before Christmas showing that councils were evicting an estimated 1,100 families and single people each year.

"The biggest worry is that we do not know what happens to people who are evicted. Some may end up in short term, expensive accommodation in the private sector. Many will get by for a while with family or friends.

"But what is certain is that most will eventually end up homeless again, sometimes again and again. There must be a better way to tackle problems of debt and anti-social behaviour than this."

The number of housing association tenants in Scotland has doubled in the past 10 years as the number of council tenancies has declined.

Associations are taking over council housing

With several large-scale housing transfers in the pipeline, housing associations are set to overtake councils as the main providers of housing in some areas.

The charity fears that a rising trend in evictions could lead to a general rise in homelessness at the time when prevention of the problem is set to become a top government priority.

Shelter wants the Scottish Parliament's social justice committee to launch an investigation into the level of evictions and how to prepare alternatives to eviction.

However, a spokesman for Scotland's housing associations argued that Shelter's conclusions were based on raw data which needed to be carefully checked.

He said the associations did their best to help tenants in genuine difficulties - but made no apology for evicting those who did not pay their rent or made neighbours' lives a misery.

Independent advice

Alan Grant, who runs a housing association in Aberdeen, said: "We do our best to keep in touch with people and make sure that they are aware of the opportunity to make instalment payments and come to an arrangement with us to avoid eviction."

He said tenants were also made aware of places they could go for independent advice, including Shelter, in addition to being offered the services of his association's own qualified debt counsellor.

The Scottish Executive said the figures needed more analysis.

A spokesperson suggested that the growth in the number of properties controlled by housing associations, which has risen from 60,000 to 150,000 in less than a decade, could account for any rise in evictions.