Terminally ill Scots and their loved ones will now benefit from strengthened housing protections, including greater protection against evictions from landlords, following key amendments to the Housing (Scotland) Bill, passed at Stage 3 in the Scottish Parliament.

The Bill, which aims to provide more affordable, secure and stable housing for all, includes provisions that directly improve housing security for those living with terminal illness.

These changes were welcomed by the researchers in the University of Glasgow and Marie Curie, who worked together on the ‘Dying in the Margins’ research study, which documented the direct impact of financial hardship on terminally ill people, and has been central to informing the amendments.

Key amendments to the Bill include:

Eviction Protections: Courts and First-Tier Tribunals must now actively consider the impact of terminal illness on tenants, their households, and landlords before proceeding with eviction. This ensures that health-related vulnerabilities are weighed alongside financial hardship and other factors.

Succession Rights: The qualifying residence period for succession of a social tenancy has been reduced from 12 months to 6 months, making it easier for surviving household members to retain their homes.

Extended Occupancy Period: Joint tenants who qualify to succeed a Scottish Secure Tenancy after the death of a tenant can now remain in the property for up to 6 months, up from the previous 3-month limit. This extension provides additional time to secure alternative accommodation.

These amendments reflect a growing recognition of the unique challenges faced by terminally ill individuals and their families and mark a significant step forward in housing justice.

Every year, approximately 27,600 people in Scotland have to move home because of a close bereavement. The amendments will make huge improvements for terminally ill tenants and will provide bereaved families with every opportunity to succeed a property or remain in their own homes during such a difficult time.

Dr Naomi Richards, Senior Lecturer and Principal Investigator on the Dying in the Margins Study, University of Glasgow, said: "The Dying in the Margins study, funded by UKRI, was unique in using images to highlight the plight of people experiencing multiple hardships at the end of their lives. We discovered how our participants' living conditions, as well as their interactions with social housing providers, often made their situations so much harder, adding to their distress.

"The changes to the Housing (Scotland) Bill enshrining stronger tenancy rights for the terminally ill and for those who have been recently bereaved marks a huge and welcome step forward. It would have helped to reduce the suffering of people like Stacey and Joost who took part in our study. The changes will give people certainty that they can live out their last days at home and not be faced with eviction in the immediate aftermath of a death when they are at the height of their grief. How a country treats its dying citizens says a lot about its values. These legislative changes extend more compassion to those who are dying and grieving in insecure rented accommodation."

Ellie Wagstaff, Senior Policy Manager at Marie Curie Scotland, said: "Having a place to call home is not something many of us think twice about until a person is faced with the prospect of having to leave, which is even more unthinkable if someone is terminally ill, or grieving the loss of someone close to them. Terminally ill people should be making memories with their families in the little time they have left, not worrying about their homes.

"Marie Curie welcomes the cross-party amendments to the Housing (Scotland) Bill which will help uphold human dignity and respect at the end of life by strengthening terminally ill people’s tenants’ rights and succession rights of bereaved families to prevent the risk of homelessness. We call on Scottish Government to prioritise the implementation of these protections so terminally ill people are supported as quickly as possible."

Dying in the Margins shared the story of Stacey and Joost ten Wolde, who faced significant issues in getting an accessible home that met Stacey’s needs, followed by a decision to evict Joost from their home just 14 days after Stacey died.

Stacey, 39, died only six weeks after she signed an agreement on the ground-floor flat. But due to symptoms relating to her having brain cancer she had not declared her husband was a member of the household.

Joost said: "My housing situation got really complicated after Stacey passed away. We were married, of course. She signed the house agreement.

"When she passed away the housing association got a letter from the government informing them that Stacey had passed away, and they sent me a notice. Within 14 days after Stacey died, I was contacted saying I need to get out of the house.

"A few days later, I went to the housing association, and I was there with an advocate who helps out in these situations for free.

"So we went to their meeting and they said 'We are so sorry. We cannot do anything; you need to leave the house within two days. The advocate who was helping me said, 'His wife's funeral is the 1st of May and you want to kick him out of the house? He needs to stay here, he needs to arrange things.
"They let me stay for another five months. It was crazy. I didn’t do this just for me, but in the hope that people in the same situation could learn from it.

"People need time to grieve. They need time to put everything in order. It’s not human to kick someone out of a house a few days before a funeral, and just literally say, 'it’s not our problem'. This needs to be written in the law and I’m grateful that there are now key amendments to the Housing (Scotland) Bill to prevent others from going through what I did."

First published: 7 October 2025

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