Five children a day face the threat of homelessness as a result of family eviction in Scotland, according to a charity.

Shelter, a housing and homelessness charity, said that about 2,000 children had to leave their homes in 2007-08 after their families were forced out as a result of rent arrears or, in a small minority of cases, a dispute with a neighbour.

Evictions caused considerable stress and unhappiness, isolating children from their friends, disrupting their education and creating a general feeling of insecurity and impermanence, Shelter said. Families were often moved out of their local area, leaving children without the vital support of close friends, relatives and teachers.

In its report Eviction of Children and Families: the Impact and the Alternatives Shelter said that children featured in about one third of all households evicted by landlords. It said that evicting families was expensive, costing an estimated £11 million in 2007-08, and a poor method of collecting rent.

Shelter questioned whether it was always proportionate or reasonable to evict a family on the grounds of rent arrears given the distress it caused. It pointed out that evicted families were often forced to present themselves as homeless to the local authorities that evicted them in the first place.

Shelter called on the Scottish Government and landlords to adopt precautionary, pre-crisis and crisis interventions in partnership with a wide range of advice and support services to reduce the number of families threatened with eviction.

The report said: “The reasons why families fall into arrears are complex but tend to be related to low or intermittent income, poverty and health issues, while triggers include sudden changes in peoples’ lives such as job loss, illness, relationship breakdown and bereavement alongside dealing with housing benefit claims and potentially multiple debts.

“There are more effective and efficient ways to deal with and prevent rent arrears and anti-social behaviour. Social landlords are key to this process. While some are making efforts to avoid problems escalating to the eviction stage and to seriously consider the impact an eviction may have on children’s lives, more social landlords need to follow suit.”

Graeme Brown, the director of Shelter Scotland, said: “It is vital that alternatives to eviction are sought and it needs to be recognised that eviction is not the best way to recover rent.

“Eviction wrecks lives, leaving families and children without a home and causing severe distress. Families who fall into arrears, more often than not, are struggling with the harsh reality of living in poverty.

Mr Brown described one family the charity had worked with who were evicted for rent arrears after a housing benefit mix-up. The family were homeless for three years, moving four times to different temporary accommodation. It was “unsettling and upsetting, particularly for the children”, he said.

Mr Brown added: “As the full force of the recession takes hold, more families will be at risk of eviction, not just repossession. We welcome the moves the Scottish Government has made to tackle repossessions and urge similar measures be taken to reduce evictions.

“We want to see social landlords, the Scottish Government and advice agencies working together to ensure eviction is only ever a last resort and prevented wherever possible.”

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