Councils are adding to the problem, the study says

Of more than 3,000 council tenants evicted each year, many are as a result of local authority notices, a report by Shelter Scotland and the Legal Services Agency said.

It found some councils were using the procedure more than others, with more than 28,000 tenants taken to court each year.

A spokesman for the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla) said councils only used eviction as a last resort if all other methods had failed.

The report found that of the 3,000 evictions and abandonments each year, only 1.7% arose from anti-social behaviour

To say that evictions threaten the new act is simply not accurate and undermines the effort put in by all sides in developing a workable framework Cosla spokesman

Gavin Corbett, head of campaigns at Shelter Scotland, said: "Although some evictions are inevitable, we are appealing to councils to re-examine their policies to ensure that every possible alternative has been looked at."

The charity urged the Scottish Executive to monitor all public landlords including housing associations, which rent under the same conditions as local authorities.

A Cosla spokesman said: "Court action is the last resort for all of Scotland's councils but at the end of the day it is the sheriff that decides if an eviction goes ahead.

"To say that evictions threaten the new act is simply not accurate and undermines the effort put in by all sides in developing a workable framework through the 2001 Housing Act and the recent Homelessness Act.

"As always Cosla is willing and waiting to talk to Shelter about its concerns, and indeed forums are already established for this type of discussion."