A HOUSING and homelessness charity has seen a rise of almost 40% in the number of people turning to it for help in just two years.

Shelter Scotland revealed it received a total of 1925 calls to its free housing advice line last month – up from 1636 in the same period last year and 37% more than in July 2010.

Between January and July this year, 14,418 people got in touch with the charity seeking advice on housing issues, compared to just over 20,000 calls received in the whole of 2011.

Shelter Scotland director Graeme Brown said the charity was deeply concerned but not surprised by the rising number of families and individuals looking for help.

Mr Brown added: "In the face of stretched household budgets, the impact of welfare reform starting to bite and increases in the cost of living, even more families and individuals are at risk of losing their home.

"Already for some, just a small increase in monthly outgoings could be the trigger that finally pushes them over the edge into a spiral of debt, repossession or eviction and possible homelessness."

The charity also revealed a 20% year-on-year rise in the number of specialist cases it deals with. The number of such cases, which feature more complex issues, also jumped by 17% between June and July this year.

Shelter Scotland relies on public donations to fund its housing advice line, but Mr Brown warned the charity was itself facing "major challenges".

He said: "While the number of families and individuals needing our help continues to rise, we face major challenges of our own with cuts to our national and local services.

"Our helpline is entirely funded by public donations and we are relying now, more than ever, on the generosity and support of the public to help us to continue our vital work to ensure that no-one fights bad housing and homelessness on their own."

Mr Brown also urged anyone with housing problems to seek help sooner rather than later.

"When things start collapsing around them, people often put their head in the sand," he said.

"Our advisors are on hand to help anyone facing bad housing and homelessness. If they come to us sooner we can do more to help – there's always hope. We urge anyone who is experiencing problems in paying their bills to seek advice sooner rather than later by calling our free national helpline on 0808 800 4444 or by visiting our website www. shelterscotland.org."

The announcement follows a report earlier this week revealing that Scottish house buyers are benefiting from the most affordable mortgages in the UK.

The Bank of Scotland Affordability Report showed that just 20% of a Scottish house buyer's income goes on mortgage payments, compared to 35% in London, 24% in north England and 25% in Wales.

This is the lowest level for a decade and an 18% drop on five years ago, when Scottish homeowners were paying out as much as 38% of their income on mortgage payments.