An SNP MP has made another attempt to prevent PRS landlords from evicting benefit tenants who are in arrears.

Chris Stephens (main picture) submitted his Evictions (Universal Credit) Bill to Parliament which is set for a second reading on 1st March.

It is part of his radical programme of 17 bills aimed at meeting the needs of working-class Scots, which also includes proposed new laws on workers’ rights and requiring the UK Government to publish a plan to end the use of food banks by 2030.

Faltering

The Glasgow South West MP tried to introduce a similar bill during the last parliament in 2022 which made it to a second reading before faltering.

Stephens hopes that some of them will be selected as 10-minute-rule bills, which would give him time to present them to the House of Commons.

His was not the only private members bill relating to tenants’ rights that was submitted this week; Labour MP Fleur Andersen presented the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (Amendment) Bill that would see landlords mandated to fix problems in set timeframes in the same way as social landlords. It is set for a second reading on 19th January.

Chris Stephens spoke out in a Commons debate about the cost of living relating to the PRS in July, but strangely didn’t reference his bill when he called on section 21 to be scrapped.