The Herald today launches a campaign through a seven-point charter for change to help end Scotland's housing emergency including a call to change the law so thousands of Scots found to be at risk of homelessness every year get support earlier to stay in their homes.

The Charter for Change includes a call for the required funds to urgently increase the building of affordable homes so people can move more rapidly out of homelessness and into settled accommodation.

Put together in collaboration with a range of key groups including professional standards body Chartered Institute for Housing, homelessness charity Crisis and national tenants' rights organisation Living Rent, it aims to cut the surge of people who are presenting as homeless across Scotland by getting the nation building the houses that are badly needed.

The Herald in its housing emergency series found that a raft of Scots children equivalent to the population of St Andrews were being declared as homeless last year in a national housing scandal.

Our investigation has revealed that every day 50 Scots children are being hit by homelessness while the numbers languishing in halfway house temporary accommodation because they cannot be found settled homes has hit record levels, having more than trebled in 20 years.

Some 18,400 children are included among the 64,000 Scots within families who have been seeking homelessness support from councils last year, despite widespread attempts to curb homelessness.

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The estimates based on requested council and government evidence which lays bare the extent of the nation's homelessness crisis showed nearly 1400 more children in families were seeking homelessness help from councils than there were in the pre-pandemic year of 2019.

Councils have seen a near 4800 rise in the number of Scots who were declaring they did not have a home to go to in just four years despite widespread attempts to curb homelessness.

It all comes six years after the Scottish Government launched an action plan to build affordable homes which was meant to curb homelessness, cut the use of temporary accommodation and rapidly rehouse people.

How the Herald's Housing Emergency series was launched on Tuesday (Image: NQ) But so far it has not worked, with 4,700 households more stuck in temporary housing limbo in 2023 than there were six years ago - a rise of 43% - with 15,625 in the makeshift homes last year - the highest for over 20 years. Over two decades, that number has trebled with just 5403 in the makeshift homes in 2003.

The number of children in transitory homes has followed suit hitting new records. There were 9,860 children in such transitory homes towards the end of 2023, 3245 (49%) more than when ministers launched the action plan.

The Herald's housing charter for changeThe Herald's housing charter for change (Image: Newsquest)

Meanwhile we revealed that to meet its own targets to build 110,000 homes by 2032 is met to end the homelessness scandal, it is estimated they need to plough in at today's prices over £9bn of public money. But if the Scottish Government continues the average spend on affordable homes of the last three years, it is on target to be £4bn short of what is needed.

The Scottish Government has fallen way behind in a key target in its 2021 Programme for Government to deliver 110,000 social and affordable homes by 2032 with 70% for social rent.

There have been 19,980 affordable homes completed, that have received some sort of public money support in the first two years till March 31 this year - meaning it is already 2,620 short of an 11,300 homes a year target.

With seven years and nine months of the target to go 90,020 homes remain to be completed to meet the target, at an average of over 11,600 a year.

CIH, Living Rent, Crisis and other agencies are agreed that there needed to be a stepping up on the building of affordable homes so people can move more rapidly out of homelessness and into settled accommodation.

A second prong of the charter calls for a rapid reduction in the number of children living in temporary accommodation.

It also calls for the most to be made of existing homes to help people in need. That includes the speeding up the conversion of empty and void properties into genuinely affordable, settled homes, to move people out of temporary accommodation quickly.

It involves agreeing a clear emergency housing action plan to reverse the decline in housebuilding and improve standards in temporary homes.

CIH Scotland says that the Scottish Government's long-term strategy Housing to 2040 is not meeting the immediate needs of the thousands of homeless households and others in housing need.

"We need an emergency plan to focus on reversing the decline of housebuilding and explore all options," they said.

Another key component is a call to change the law so that those at risk of homelessness are entitled to support much earlier to help them keep the rented or owned home they have. Scotland's councils have already spent £720m of public money on placing the homeless in temporary accommodation such as bed and breakfasts and hotels over the last five years because of a housing shortage.

According to estimates based on council returns the cost to the public purse has nearly doubled since before the pandemic.

It was running at over £190m in 2023, a rise of nearly £30m (18%) from the previous year. In 2019 the cost was at just over £100m.

At present local authorities are required to take action and prevent someone becoming homeless if they are at risk of within the a 56 (two month) period.

But Crisis say that is almost always too late to stop someone becoming homeless and should be extended to six months.

That means thousands would qualify for help to stop them becoming homeless in the first place, including a write off of arrears so they aren't evicted, finding somewhere new to live that is settled and access to mediation services.

They say the 56 days is not enough time to fix the issue causing them to be at risk and they usually end up on the streets, in temporary accommodation or sofa surfing. It means that if a landlord gave three months notice to quit because they were selling a flat, there is no entitlement to help.

It is also calling for new legal duties on public services, requiring them to play a greater role in preventing people from becoming homeless.

Matt Downie  (Image: NQ)

Matt Downie, chief executive of Crisis, said: “We know around 1 in 12 people in Scotland has been homeless. Yet all too often people are being forced to leave their homes in circumstances where their homelessness could have been prevented.

“By allowing people to get support earlier – before they reach a point of emergency – and by widening responsibility for preventing homelessness across public services, we can stop more people in Scotland from experiencing the trauma and indignity of homelessness.

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“It is vital the Scottish Government acts to create a better future – using the Housing Bill to change the law, so people can get help at least six months before they are at risk of homelessness, and by introducing new legal duties on public services to require them to do more to help people keep their homes.”

The charter also calls for improved funding for services to support the homeless and a new wave of retrofitting of our homes to keep them warm and costs down. Energy leaking homes are seen as costly to the environment and tenants, who spend huge amounts on heating. Energy efficient homes would keep costs down for both.

Mr Downie added: “The principles published in the Herald today set out a clear vision for how Scotland can build a future free from homelessness.

“By acting earlier to prevent homelessness from happening in the first place, alongside building new social and affordable homes, we can stop more people being trapped for long periods of time in emergency accommodation.

“We can stand by and watch as more people are forced into homelessness or we can create a different future. We need to act now, to prevent homelessness from happening in the first place, and build a Scotland where everyone has a safe, secure place to call home.

“Homelessness is a political choice. With the right political commitment, and by working together, we can end it.”

Callum Chomczuk, CIH's national director for Scotland said: "CIH Scotland very much welcome the campaign launched by The Herald today to end Scotland’s housing emergency.

Callum Chomczuk (Image: Derek McArthur)

"It is clear that with new social house building falling, homelessness rising and thousands of children in temporary accommodation that tenants that we are on the wrong path.

"That is not just the assessment of housing campaigners but also the Scottish Housing Regulator with its warning of systemic risk in the homelessness system and the Scottish Government itself declaring a housing emergency.

"If the challenges are systemic and nationwide then we need to respond in kind. A response that prioritises house building, increasing the supply of social housing and improving existing stock.

"The Herald’s Charter for Change sets out exactly the priorities we want to see from the Scottish Government to improve our housing system, tackle poverty and give every child a safe a safe affordable home. CIH Scotland is fully behind the campaign and we hope it can kick start the political response required to end Scotland’s housing emergency."

Living Rent said: "The seven point charter shows how much agreement there is in the sector regarding how to solve the housing crisis: we need to build more social housing, introduce greater regulations and implement creative solutions to bring existing housing stock into use.

"Every year the situation is worsening due to a lack of political will."

The Scottish Tenants' Organisation backed the Charter for Change saying: "We unconditionally support the charter and very much hope it acts as a is a wake up call for the Scottish Government to take the necessary action to remedy the housing emergency."

Housing minister Paul McLennan said: “Since 2007, Scotland has delivered more than 131,000 affordable homes, with more than 93,000 of those being for social rent. We will invest nearly £600 million in affordable housing in 2024-25, the majority of which will be for social rent.

“We have also made record funding available to councils to help tackle homelessness, of more than £14 billion in 2024-25 – a real-terms increase of 4.3% compared with the previous year. In addition, the homelessness prevention measures in the Housing Bill aim to ensure shared public responsibility and earlier intervention to prevent homelessness.

“We will continue to work collaboratively with our partners and stakeholders across the housing sector to tackle the housing emergency.”