Legal Services Agency

Ensuring everyone in Scotland has access to adequate housing should be put at the centre of policy-making at every level of government, according to a new call from more than a dozen organisations working across housing, homelessness, local government and the legal sector.

The new Tenant Protection Act falls short of expectations, argues the Legal Services Agency. In October 2022, the Scottish Parliament passed the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Bill (which has now received royal assent). This bill aims to introduce new measures to protect tenants in th

Legal Services Agency has launched a new project which will provide support to people detained in HMP Greenock and Low Moss by offering tailored legal advice and representation, to empower individuals to understand their housing options and navigate legal processes. The project, Disrupting Cycles of

The total debt owed by individuals to local authorities that charged for temporary homeless accommodation in Scotland is in excess of £33 million, new figures have revealed amid suggestions that the practice could be unlawful.

Ben Christman, Rebecca Morton and Shaun McPhee from the Legal Services Agency outline what they believe to be the main issues regarding the poor enforcement of the law of unlawful evictions in Scotland and make recommendations to the Scottish Government. The law of damages for unlawful eviction

A former tenant of a property in Gourock, Inverclyde, has been awarded £1,500 by the First-tier Tribunal Housing and Property Chamber after it found she had been unlawfully evicted by her landlord, who claimed that his sister intended to live in the property.

A recent study conducted on behalf of the Legal Services Agency seeks to examine the valuation of compensation awards in the two years following the introduction of the Letting Agent Code of Practice. LSA volunteers and Glasgow School of Law graduates Alice Dalkin, Caitlin Perring&nbs

The Legal Services Agency (LSA) is hosting virtual meetings to allow lawyers in the social justice sector to connect during lockdown. The next one is at 4pm this Thursday and will include short presentations from the Equality and Human Rights Commission and Shelter Scotland.

The current moratorium on evictions in Scotland must be extended beyond the current timeframe and include those who are actively trying to ensure their rent arrears are dealt with, according to a number of charities.

Paul Brown and Ben Christman from the Legal Services Agency (LSA) discuss the impact of the current public health emergency on human rights.

Legal Services Agency trainee solicitor Shaun McPhee discusses the effect of COVID-19 on housing law. The Coronavirus (Scotland) Act 2020 is now law. It brings major changes to housing law and practice, which will impact a large number of tenants for the foreseeable future. The emergency provisions

Rona Macleod, a solicitor and associate at the Legal Services Agency (LSA), considers the case against Serco’s lock-change evictions post-Ali.  For around eighteen months Legal Services Agency have been challenging lock change evictions in Glasgow Sheriff Court. We raised one of the first

Aaliya Seyal has been appointed chief executive of the Legal Services Agency (LSA). Ms Seyal takes from interim chief executive Ronald Franks and brings over 17 years’ experience in leading voluntary sector organisations.

A collaboration of lawyers who took on a multi-billion-pound national services company to defend the rights to a home for more than 300 highly vulnerable asylum seekers has won the Judges Award at The Herald’s 2019 Law Awards of Scotland.

A coalition of charities has urged Serco to bring an end to its lock-change evictions of asylum seekers, days before the private housing provider is expected to enter the first premises in Glasgow, until the legality of the action is clarified in law.