As finances tighten, more Scots kids than ever

have risen 4% and by 5% in South Lanarkshire.

Dundee and Aberdeen rents are showing signs of edging up, too.

Meanwhile, the number of people on zero-hours contracts across the UK has soared from 800,000 to 910,000 in only 12 months.

Mr Aldridge said: “The fact there are hotspots where there is a rapid explosion in numbers of families in temporary accommodation shows the housing market is volatile, something people on fixed incomes can struggle to cope with.

“Rents are going through the roof in some parts.

“Edinburgh tends to feel that uplift more than anywhere in Scotland, but demand for property in the capital is also enormous at the moment.

“The city’s economy is very strong and so people have plenty of money to spend on rent.

“That forces up prices and once a family defaults and has to leave a property, it’s very difficult for them to get back into the market.”

Mr Aldridge added: “A lot of landlords would rather not have tenants in receipt of benefits, even if they’re hard-working people.

“They’d rather leave a property empty or put it up for weekend let as a party flat or Airbnb, which squeezes the supply of housing even more.

“It’s harder to judge what is happening in Aberdeen, which has its own unique economic climate.

“The downturn in the oil industry means people have lost their jobs while a lot of landlords are selling their buy- to- let properties to release their investments.

“Add in the benefits cap which is cutting the budgets of some families and that more jobs are coming with zero-hours contracts and it easy to see how just a small AFTER four-and-a-half-years of living steadily in a private rented flat with her two young children, Rachel Gardiner’s landlord told her he was selling up and she had a month to find somewhere else to call home.

The 24-year-old packed all the family’s belongings into storage before being moved between three rise in rents can be devastating for the working poor of Scotland.

“They find themselves with no other option than to approach their council and apply for homeless status and, because social housing is not being built quickly enough to cope with the demand, they end up in temporary accommodation.

“We need a major debate about how to increase the supply of affordable homes and access to them for those on low incomes.”