‘Homeless tsunami’ Concerns as Scottish rent arrears hit a record £174m
Levels of debt accelerate by £8.5m in just three months – with millions more unable to pay in private sector
RENT arrears among tenants in Scotland’s low-cost homes have soared to a record £174.5 million leading to new concerns over the cost-of-living crisis and huge rise in homelessness.
The level of debt involving tenants using housing association and local authority accommodation as of the end of last year has risen by over £37m since before the pandemic. It has soared by £8.5m in just three months.
It is feared there are tens of millions more in rent debt in the private sector in Scotland.
It comes after The Herald revealed that Scotland’s council tax mountain has risen to record levels, increasing sharply by nearly 50 per cent in a year.
The amount of council tax that remained outstanding amounted to £139.552m on March 31, 2021. Last year, before the pandemic hit, the council tax debt stood at £95.4m – a rise of nearly 25% on the previous year.
As the Covid eviction ban has been lifted, new data seen by The Herald shows that the number of notices of proceedings issues over rent arrears has risen by over two-thirds.
Over the three months to the end of December, there were 4,215 notices of proceedings issued over rent arrears, nearly 1,700 more than in the first three months of the financial year.
It comes as Citizens Advice Scotland and homelessness charity Crisis said people threatened with homelessness should be able to get help earlier, up to six months before they are forced from their home.
The charities’ analysis of homelessness cases in Scotland over the last year showed that earlier intervention and more joined-up support could have stopped more people from being pushed into homelessness.
Their commentary came as the number of homeless people dying in Scotland’s biggest city has soared by two-and-a-half times in a year despite the offer of hotel accommodation to prevent deaths from Covid-19, according to “shocking” new analysis.
Some 80 people died in 2021 in Glasgow, a huge rise from 33 in 2020, during the height of the pandemic. Across Scotland, the numbers have risen from 176 to 182.
The numbers, which include homeless people living on the streets, sofa surfing, and in emergency or temporary accommodation, have been gathered in an annual audit with the help of Freedom of Information requests and a national network of organisations that contributes to the Dying Homeless Project overseen by the Museum of Homelessness (MoH).
‘Tidal wave’
BOTH CAS and Crisis say there is a need for new duties requiring public services, such as those working in health and social care or the justice system, to ask about someone’s housing situation then offer help if needed. The Scottish Tenants Organisation said the record rent arrears was a “clear indication of a tidal wave of homelessness to come as the cost-of-living crisis gets worse unless the Scottish Government intervenes now to prevent a tsunami of homelessness”.
It said: The Scottish Government should implement an immediate eviction ban so people can stay in their homes as it is more costly for authorities to make them homeless and then rehouse these tenants. In addition, an eviction ban would give tenants security and help prevent physical and mental health getting worse.”
The study by CAS and Crisis, based on 185 cases from CAS between January 2021 and January 2022, revealed how what they called “a lack of integration of services” presents a missed opportunity to resolve someone’s housing situation before they reach crisis point.
The charities said that eviction from the private rented sector was a major cause of homelessness, often because the landlord wished to sell or occupy the property themselves.
This included many cases where the landlord was not complying with regulations, for example, not being registered as a landlord or offering the proper tenancy agreement.
Evictions from the social rented sector were far less common although the charities said this may be due to the emergency coronavirus legislation in place at the time, which prevented evictions.
The most common problems reported in the homelessness system related to the quality and suitability of temporary accommodation, the support available to cover living costs, and the length of time people spent within it.
Some cases also revealed how the environment associated with temporary accommodation, such as drug and alcohol use by other occupants, noise, and antisocial behaviour, could exacerbate individuals’ mental health when forced to live in these conditions.
‘Critical’ situation
THE data found the common causes of homelessness in the cases analysed were domestic abuse, relationship breakdown, and eviction from private residential tenancies. Matt Downie, Crisis chief executive, said: “We know all too well what happens when housing costs rise beyond people’s incomes. It doesn’t have to be this way. The pandemic showed that with the right political will Scotland can make huge progress in its journey towards tackling rough sleeping and ending homelessness, but it is now critical that momentum is not lost and the UK Government supports these efforts by ensuring housing benefit covers the true cost of rents.
“We also strongly support the Scottish Government’s plans to strengthen homelessness prevention, so that people can get help earlier, alongside new duties for public services to ask about someone’s housing situation, then act to offer help if required. The best way to end homelessness is to prevent it.”
According to Shelter Scotland, councils throughout Scotland failed to deliver social homes for up to 7,500 homeless children. The charity says local authority leaders are “failing children across the country” and called on councils to “urgently tackle the deepening housing emergency” ahead of May’s elections.
In Glasgow alone, the latest figures show there were 2,480 children in temporary accommodation, while 1,515
The pandemic showed that with the right political will Scotland can make huge progress in its journey towards tackling rough sleeping and ending homelessness
children in Edinburgh face the same situation. In Aberdeen, a household with children in temporary accommodation will on average spend 103 days before getting a permanent residence, while in Dundee that figure rises to 285 days.
Shelter Scotland says its analysis of housing plans shows a minimum of 7,000 social homes are needed over the next five years in Edinburgh, 3,675 in Glasgow, 853 in Aberdeen, and 655 in Dundee.
‘Doing all we can’
A SCOTTISH Government spokesperson said: “We are doing all we can to ensure people, communities and businesses are given as much support as possible to deal with the rising cost of living. Many of the powers required to tackle these issues, including energy markets, are reserved to the UK Government, but the vital steps we proposed for the Chancellor’s Spring Statement were largely ignored.
“The Scottish Government is uprating eight Scottish benefits by 6% from April 1 as well as doubling our Scottish Child Payment from £10 per week per eligible child to £20. The Scottish Child Payment will be further increased to £25 by the end of 2022. We are using our powers to help those who need us most in these difficult times and we have called for the UK Government to follow our lead and uprate social security benefits by 6%.
“We are investing £100m between 2018 and 2026 to take forward our Ending Homelessness Together action plan. As part of this, we have committed £52.5m towards Rapid Rehousing Transition Plans and Housing First, to provide people with settled accommodation. The extensive measures we have taken come despite the UK Government’s announcement of funding to mitigate the cost-of-living crisis reducing the resources the Scottish Government expected to have available.”