A "disgraceful" number of Scots are struggling to pay their rent or mortgage - with the number rising by nearly a third in the last two years.

That is the view of Shelter Scotland which commissoned research which found that around one in eight (12%) Scots are sweating over covering their accommodation costs - up from nearly one in ten (9%) when the same survey was done two years ago.

New research by YouGov found that nearly 4 in 10 say they would struggle to pay their rent or mortgage if it rose by as little as £50 a month during 2019, while 39% admitted they had at least once borrowed money from a friend, used a credit card or used their savings to pay their rent or mortgage.

Graeme Brown, director of Shelter Scotland, said: “It’s a disgrace that in 21st century Scotland so many people should have to worry about the basic right of keeping a roof over their heads.

The Herald:

“It’s quite clear from these numbers that tens of thousands of people in Scotland are entering 2019 worrying about meeting the costs of their rent or mortgage over the next few months and that many thousands more would struggle with even a modest rise on those costs.

“A perfect storm of austerity, harsh welfare reforms, stagnant wages, job insecurity and the high cost of housing are making it harder for people to make ends meet and plan for the future.

Shelter Scotland, which said 600 people were surveyed for their new report, is warning that ignoring money worries rather than seeking advice could lead to people’s homes being put at risk.  Last year the charity said it had helped more people than ever before via its free national helpline, digital chat and online advice - with 46% of those helped needing advice on keeping their home.

The charity says one household every 18 minutes was made homeless in Scotland last year, with nearly 11,000 households forced to live in temporary accommodation, including more than 14,000 children.

Last year Scottish Government figures showed that one million Scots were living in poverty after the had paid their rent or mortgage - and that the problem has worsened in recent years.

The Herald:

Almost a quarter of children were classed as living below the poverty line after housing costs were taken into account, the Scottish Government figures showed.

The statistics, which related to the three-year period between 2014 and 2016, were described as “scandalous” and “unacceptable” by Holyrood’s opposition parties.

They showed that every year around 1m Scots are in poverty after paying their housing costs, an increase of 30,000 on the previous three years and the highest total since 2002 to 2005.

Mr Brown added: “It’s absolutely vital that people who do find themselves struggling to make ends meet and keep a roof over their heads should seek help sooner rather than later. It’s much better to put a plan in place to deal with debt and arrears in the early stages rather than wait for eviction notices and court orders.

The Herald:

“All year round our teams are ready to help, but, in order to do so, we need help from the public so we can keep up our fight against bad housing and homelessness."

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Under the UK Government’s austerity programme and welfare cuts, money is being taken from the pockets of low income families, pushing them into crisis, debt and poverty.

"We spent more than £127 million last year to try and mitigate that, and provide vital support for low income households – something we will continue to do in 2019.”