Scotland's homeless figures: Charities, unions react

There were 16,330 households in temporary accommodation as of March 31 2024 – 9% more than the same last year and the highest recorded by the Scottish Government in its data series.

Read More:

• 'Source of shame': Housing minister told homelessness data should be 'wake up call'

• Homelessness in Scotland at the highest level for more than a decade

• Scotland's Housing Emergency – find all articles in series

This total included 10,110 children, with this up by 5% from March 2023 and also the highest recorded total in the series.

Overall, the Scottish Government’s figures showed there were 33,619 homeless households in 2023-23 – a rise of 3% from the previous year resulting in 38,075 adults and 15,474 children not having a place to call home.

Living Rent

(Image: Living Rent) The national tenants union in Scotland said the Scottish Government needs to go further to protect those living in private rented accommodation.

Aditi Jehangir, Chair of Living Rent said: "These figures highlight the failure of this government to tackle the housing emergency. Our social housing stock is not enough to provide for our needs and unaffordable rents in the private sector are forcing people out of their homes.

"The Covid and cost of living eviction bans show that we can reduce evictions from the private sector, but now the Scottish government needs to go further. 

"Too many people are being forced out due to high rents or by landlords who break the rules. We need strong rent controls that bring down rents so that no one is made homeless due to unaffordable rents. And we need stronger protections against eviction and greater support to stay put.

"Housing should be a right not a luxury. The Scottish government has it within its powers to fund social housing associations and local authorities to build more social homes and encourage stock buyback to help end homelessness."

Scottish Federation of Housing Associations

Sally Thomas, head of the Scottish Federation of Housing AssociationsThe SFHA called for "urgent action" as the number of social homes built fell by a quarter.

SFHA Chief Executive Sally Thomas said: “Today’s housing and homelessness figures underline that the collapse in housebuilding has devastating consequences.

“Repeated Scottish Government cuts to the affordable housing budget have made it ever more difficult for housing associations to deliver the safe, warm, affordable homes that everyone deserves as a basic human right.

“We’ve seen some recognition from Scottish Government that this is an emergency, so ahead of the Scottish budget we need to see radical action to match that and to invest in our social homes. This is a dire situation, but there is time to turn things around if we act with purpose.”

Chartered Institute of Housing Scotland

(Image: PA) CIH Scotland said the figures represented a "worrying escalation", and called for the UK and the Scottish Governments to take decisive action.

Callum Chomczuk, national director of CIH Scotland said: "The figures published today reveal a worrying escalation of Scotland's housing emergency: homelessness is rising, homelessness due to violent or abusive dispute is rising, evictions due to rent arrears in the social sector are at a worrying level and the crucially the new supply of affordable homes is falling.

"We need decisive leadership from the UK and the Scottish Government which must include defining a new path to achieving the 2032 target of 110,000 affordable homes, and a commitment to scaling up and front-loading social housing investment in this parliamentary term. We need all political parties to work together to address the housing emergency, provide the long-term funding for building and make this the political priority." 

Citizens Advice Scotland

Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) called for a more collaborative approach by the Scottish Government, with homelessness up and housebuilding down.

Aoife Deery, CAS senior policy officer, said: “These datasets go hand in hand and give us a clear picture into the continued and unacceptable housing pressures Scotland faces. Action is needed urgently if we’re going to see improvements in Scotland’s housing sector. We know that far too many people are experiencing real harm right now.

“Many local councils are struggling and need better assistance, while the social housebuilding budget needs to be put back on track.

“We were extremely disappointed to see the housing budget cut earlier in the year, especially as the number of homeless applications continues to increase. And behind these stats are the people that don’t have a safe space to call home. People like Adam* who approached his local Citizens Advice bureau earlier this year as he had been living in B&B temporary accommodation for over two years with no offer of housing. He had to abide by the B&B’s curfew and was unable to prepare his own meals due to the lack of facilities, therefore spending a lot of money on convenience and takeaway food. Adam was also travelling across the city to attend a college course, but his living situation was causing him a great deal of stress and uncertainty.

“The changes needed to properly tackle the housing emergency need increased collaboration between local authorities and the Scottish Government, backed up by significant multi-year funding. In a just and compassionate Scotland, everyone should have a safe, secure and affordable home.”

Shelter Scotland

(Image: .) Shelter Scotland Director, Alison Watson, said: “These figures show clearly that it is children in Scotland that are paying the highest price for politician’s failure to get a grip on the housing emergency; they should be a source of great national shame. 

“Once again Scotland has broken unwelcome records, and the sad fact is that’s becoming the norm whenever these statistics are published. It’s hard to escape the conclusion that we’re seeing homelessness by design; politicians know what needs to be done but have consistently failed to deliver."

Crisis

At the conclusion of our series on Scotland's housing crisis, the Herald laid out a seven-point charter for change, which homeless charity Crisis helped to develop along with the CIH and Living Rent.

Matt Downie, chief executive of Crisis, said: “These figures show the Scottish homelessness system is under more pressure than ever before, with the number of people forced into homelessness rising year on year on year. Councils are closing cases, but not as quickly as new applications are coming in – they’re working to end homelessness, but they’re not able to keep up with growing demand.

“Rising numbers of people sleeping on the streets, a record number of households trapped in temporary accommodation, and more than 15,000 children growing up without knowing the safety and security of a settled home.

“The Scottish Government has made tackling child poverty its number one priority, but this can’t be achieved without a stronger agenda on housing. It’s not right that, in modern-day Scotland, children are watching their parents heat up meals on radiators, because they are trapped in accommodation without access to cooking facilities.

“We know what causes homelessness and we know how to end it. The Herald’s Charter for Change sets out important solutions for doing that – by investing in social housing, providing homelessness services with the financial backing they need, and changing the law, to prevent people being forced into homelessness, we can build a Scotland where everyone has a safe, secure place to call home.”