Social Bite which supports the homeless has called for urgent action to end the housing emergency - by fixing the "broken system" that is Scotland’s temporary accommodation provision.

The charity which enjoys the support of celebrities and royalty has warned that landlords are "profiteering from human misery" as the nation struggles to cope with the rise in the number of homeless people.

The charity, which counts George Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex among its supporters has condemned the current state of temporary accommodation for the homeless referring to urine-stained mattresses, bed bugs, and out of date food and said some would be "unsuitable for any human being to find shelter in".

Its founder and executive director Josh Littlejohn says urgent changes were required.

Here he explains what he believes is the way forward.

On 15th May 2024, the Scottish Government declared a housing emergency, formally recognising the problems with the country's housing system. Ministers called for the reversal of cuts to Holyrood's capital budget, which is set by Westminster.

I believe that first and foremost we must address the broken system that is Scotland’s temporary accommodation provision. The declaration alone won’t change lives: without concrete, bold measures, the situation will continue to deteriorate, leaving countless people in unsuitable living conditions.

Scotland has some of the UK’s strongest homelessness protections, including rapid rehousing rules meant to reduce the use of temporary accommodation. However, last financial year, the use of temporary accommodation exploded.

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Where is much of this money going? Temporary accommodation primarily takes the form of privately owned, unsupported homelessness B&Bs, which I believe are at the crux of a broken system. Whilst B&Bs swallow up much of the larger local authorities’ homelessness budgets, often these are run-down and demoralising places to live, where people’s mental health issues can spiral downwards.

The legislation states that no homeless person should have to reside in a B&B for more than seven days, but the truth is that many vulnerable people can become trapped in temporary accommodation for over two years. The result is that they become further removed from society and more entrenched in a broken homelessness system over which they have no control. All the while, private landlords who operate much of this accommodation make shockingly substantial profits from a dire situation.

Josh Littlejohn  (Image: NQ)

During the last 12 years, since founding Social Bite, I have seen time and time again that people living in these forms of temporary accommodation are affected by isolation, living in a kind of limbo – cut adrift from society and stigmatised.

For example, I’ve been told by some of the people that Social Bite supports that many of these privately-owned homelessness B&Bs have a rule that residents aren’t even allowed to speak to one other, which is enforced by security guards.

I assume this rule is designed to minimise hassle for the owners by reducing conflict between residents, but imagine how isolating it is to be told you’re not allowed to speak to anyone. That sounds more like a prison to me than accommodation for people at a vulnerable moment of their lives.

Add to that the traumatic reports I hear of the state of many B&Bs – urine-stained mattresses, bed bugs, and out of date food. This not only amounts to breaches of legislation under the unsuitable accommodation order, but surely means that this accommodation is unsuitable for any human being to find shelter in.

Why does this continue? Because there’s no incentive for private operators to support people out of homelessness or invest in any kind of quality standards. Local authorities pay B&B operators a generous nightly rate often north of £50 per person and they are ‘fully booked’ all year round. The sad fact is that homelessness has become a big money-making industry and in my opinion, that’s profiteering from human misery.

Local authorities are facing unprecedented levels of demand for temporary accommodation and Scotland needs to urgently fix this broken system. We need to start to turn the tanker and invest in high quality homelessness accommodation that will provide support on site, to help vulnerable people find their feet and break the cycle of homelessness.

At Social Bite, we’ve developed a fantastic example of how things can be done differently with our village projects.

Josh Littlejohn

The Social Bite Village in Edinburgh launched in 2018 and has so far helped over 100 people in a situation of homelessness, many of whom have gone on to get their own tenancies and left homelessness behind for good. We partner with a fantastic charity called Cyrenians to give people the on-site support they need to find their feet and make this happen.

In contrast to most temporary accommodation, the village uses vacant council-owned land and transforms it, in order to provide beautiful, purpose-built prefabricated homes. There’s also a community hub where residents can get together, cook or watch TV, socialise, and support each other. Every resident that has been surveyed said the village was a significantly better alternative to traditional hostels or B&Bs.

What has made this project so successful? An uplifting living environment and some quality on-site support. It really isn’t rocket science. We focus on creating a beautiful living environment because if you give people the bare minimum, then you’re telling them that’s all they deserve. Whereas if you trust people with something of value, then subconsciously you’re telling them that they are valued.

Following the success of the Edinburgh village, we’re now working to build two new villages – one in South Lanarkshire and one in Dundee. The Dundee project will be a community specifically for vulnerable people recovering from addiction. Each village will feature accommodation for at least 15 people in modern, sustainable, modular homes and a vibrant, community hub, all surrounded by beautiful landscaping.

The hub will encourage socialisation, and empower personal growth through skills training, recovery services and personalised support. Tranquil outdoor spaces will promote relaxation and well-being, and exercise facilities will be available for all community members.

Most importantly, each village will be a place where vulnerable individuals will be supported on their journey out of homelessness for good. The idea is to turn the normalisation of ‘homeless accommodation’ on its head, to get away from the notion that people deserve the bare minimum and instead adopt a philosophy that, in their hour of need, people deserve the very best.

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We know these projects will only house a small number of people relative to the daunting scale of the issue in Scotland. But we hope they can play an important role in shining a light on how things could be done differently, with a focus on high quality support and uplifting living environments.

The provision of temporary accommodation should not be left to the profiteers and the charity sector must provide solutions that local authorities can commission. The status quo of a broken temporary accommodation system can be challenged, and it must be changed.

Josh Littlejohn is a Scottish social entrepreneur,  best selling author and homeless campaigner who founded charities the Social Bite and the World’s Big Sleep Out.