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Scottish councils struggling to meet homelessness duties, regulator warned
City councils from across the country have warned the Scottish Housing Regulator (SHR) that they are struggling to meet their statutory homelessness duties.
In their annual assurance statements submitted to the SHR, landlords said they had not always been able to provide temporary accommodation when required or meet the requirements of the Unsuitable Accommodation Order.
Under this rule, which came into force in October 2021, the maximum number of days that local authorities can use bed and breakfast-type accommodation for any homeless person is seven days.
Glasgow City Council told the SHR it “faces considerable challenges in complying with the order”.
On 27 October 2023, there were 683 households in homelessness accommodation that breached the order in the city, the council said.
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City of Edinburgh Council said that an average of 25% of households were living in temporary accommodation that breached the Unsuitable Accommodation Order. It added that the council did not offer temporary accommodation to homeless people in all cases when it had a statutory duty to do so.
East Lothian Council explained that since 2021, it has not met its statutory obligations and was in breach of the order. Between 1 August 2022 and 31 July 2023, 743 new homeless cases were opened and 133 breaches of the Unsuitable Accommodation Order were reported.
Dundee City Council also breached the order in relation to the length of stay in bed and breakfast accommodation on 47 occasions in 2022-23 because of “pressure on temporary accommodation”.
The Scottish regulator will assess the statements as part of its annual risk assessment and publish the outcomes in updated engagement plans for each landlord by the end of March 2024. This will include any changes to the regulatory status for landlords.
Michael Cameron, chief executive of the SHR, said: “Landlords are continuing to face significant challenges, including from the cost of living crisis.
“In their statements this year, local authority landlords told us about the difficulties they face meeting their statutory duties in relation to homelessness with a number reporting they had not always been able to provide temporary accommodation when required or meet the requirements of the Unsuitable Accommodation Order.”
The SHR is due to publish an update to its February 2023 thematic review on homelessness.
