Social landlords partly responsible for tenants' rent arrearsaccording to Chartered Institute of Housing Scotland.

Social landlords are partly to blame for tenants struggling to pay rent according to an independent housing body.

The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) Scotland’s chair Elaine Gibson said landlords are being forced to chase tenants for money because they became complacent prior to the reform of the benefits system.

Speaking at CIH Scotland’s annual conference in Glasgow this morning she said too many landlords allowed tenants to avoid paying rent knowing they could rely on the government for payment.

Now we’re all busy trying to persuade tenants who’ve never had to think about their rent to start prioritising it - Elaine Gibson

“Now we’re all busy trying to persuade tenants who’ve never had to think about their rent to start prioritising it,” she added.

“How many times have you heard the dreaded words ‘but I don’t pay rent’?”

Gibson, who herself has previously been homeless, admitted she never saw the current difficulties coming.

“If you had told me back in 1980 that 30-odd years down the line people would be relying on food parcels to feed their families, I wouldn’t have believed you.

“But that is the reality for many today and it’s getting worse.”

Despite the criticism Gibson also used her speech to pay tribute to the “tremendous efforts” made by council and housing association staff to support tenants struggling with welfare reforms.

“No scandal has been more successfully covered up than the appalling truth about what is happening to Britain’s poorest people,” she added.

“The emphasis of the benefits system has shifted: job centre staff used to be there to help people find jobs.

“Now their role is to gatekeep benefits, finding ways to sanction job seekers allowance for the most trivial reasons.”