Breaches of the law rose substantially last year (Image: Getty)
Scottish councils broke a law requiring them to provide temporary accommodation for homeless people – including children – a shocking 7915 times in the last year, according to new reports.
The Housing Regulator has said the demand on some local authorities “exceeds their capacity to respond” after a jaw-dropping rise in cases in the 2023/24 year.
And Glasgow, Scotland’s biggest city, bears the brunt of the blame for the damning new figures revealed by , with 6,260 of the near-8,000 failures linked to the council, which is under no overall control but has the largest number of seats.
Breaches in also rose substantially, from 420 between 2022 and 2023 to 1,515 in the last year, while other notable failures were in Aberdeen City, Falkirk and Angus.
The overall number of times the legal obligation to provide accommodation for homeless people was breached is a whopping 18 times higher than the previous year – with 11 of Scotland’s 32 local authorities admitting to the failing, a rise from just six in the preceding 12 months.
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Glasgow recorded the highest percentage of breaches – over 6,000 (Image: Getty)
Glasgow has come under particular scrutiny for its approach to homelessness in the past, with Shelter Scotland taking legal action against the council’s policy of “gatekeeping” in 2019 – the “unlawful practice of denying homeless people temporary accommodation”.
The Scottish Housing Regulator investigated the council for failing to provide temporary housing for homeless people before the pandemic as a result, but campaigners have now hit out at the regulator for a “toothless” approach that failed to curb the steep rise of breaches in the city seen in 2023/24.
A spokesperson for the Scottish Tenants Organisation said the local authority “should be made an example of” through heavy financial penalties.
“Only through developing substantial legal sanctions against local authorities through imposing large financial penalties …. can we expect to see a change in their woeful behaviour towards homeless people,” they told The Herald.
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Homelessness is a growing issue across Scotland (Image: Getty)
A study by law firm Shakespeare Martineau suggests that Scotland could record a sobering 90% rise in homelessness applications by 2040, with around 7,000 households living in temporary accommodation.
And the number of Scots declaring homelessness has reportedly risen by 4,800 in the last four years already, with councils around the country spending £720 million from the public purse on B&Bs and hotels in lieu of other housing options.
A spokesperson for the John Swinney-led government told The Herald: “Scotland has stronger housing rights for people experiencing homelessness than elsewhere in the UK, with a statutory duty on local authorities to provide accommodation to anyone at risk of homelessness.
“To reverse the trend of increasing numbers in temporary accommodation, we have provided additional funding of £42 million in 2024-25, the majority of which has been targeted towards the five local authorities with the most sustained temporary accommodation pressures. This funding will help increase the supply of social and affordable homes through acquisitions and, where appropriate, bring long term empty social homes back into use.”
A spokesperson for the Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership added: “It is well documented that the housing system in Glasgow is experiencing extreme pressure. The number of homeless applications this year has increased almost 20%. The reality is [that] demand far outstrips availability.”
“The situation is far from acceptable,” they added, “and we continue to push both governments for additional resource.”