Housing crisis ‘grips’ private rental market warns charity

The top issues facing those in need between April 2016 and March this year were struggling to afford housing costs, housing conditions and issues with landlords.

Almost half of people needing help were private renters, despite the sector making up only 14 per cent of homes in Scotland.

Young people aged between 16 and 34 also made up almost half of those who sought advice.

A similar percentage needed help keeping their home, while 29 per cent of people who approached the charity wanted assistance to find a home, including advice on homelessness. More than 1,000 people who were already homeless came to the charity for help.

The charity’s deputy director Alison Watson said: “This report shows the disproportionate impact of Scotland’s housing crisis on young people and private renters who are both over-represented in the number of people we helped.

“The terrible shortage of truly affordable homes, harsh welfare reforms, stagnant wages and the high cost of keeping a roof over their head are the main reasons driving people to ask for help.

“Struggling to afford or pay housing costs is the biggest presenting problem people have when coming to us for help.”

Ms Watson highlighted statistic which show that, on average, someone from a household in Scotland becomes homeless every 19 minutes.

She added: “Unknown numbers are sofa surfing with friends and families as they don’t have, or cannot afford, a home of their own. Our teams were contacted by more than 1,000 households who were already homeless.

“Behind those statistics are people, families, individuals - people on low incomes, people with complex needs, people in crisis - some of the most vulnerable people in our society.”

The report provoked a political backlash with the Scottish labour Party accusing the Scottish Government of failing to take the housing crisis seriously.

Labour MSP Pauline McNeill said: “Thousands of young people can’t afford the deposit for a home and don’t have access to social housing so are forced to rent privately - but the rent is so high that many can never save up enough.

“Labour has been putting pressure on the SNP government for months to take the housing crisis seriously. That means building more homes with a national housebuilding strategy, creating jobs and cutting poverty levels, but also reforming the private rented sector too.”

However, Housing Minister Kevin Stewart defended the government arguing it was working hard to protect the most vulnerable in society from the impact of the UK Government’s harsh austerity cuts.

He said: “We have delivered 60,000 affordable homes in our time in office, reintroduced council housing, ended right to buy, and are supporting people into home ownership.

“In addition, we are building at a rate faster than anywhere else in the UK, and in fact we have built 41,000 more homes than would have been built at England’s slower per-capita rate. That’s the equivalent of a new town the size of Paisley.

“Our commitment to delivering more affordable housing for Scotland continues and is a vital part of our drive to secure economic growth, support and create jobs, strengthen communities and tackle inequalities.”

The Shelter report highlighted one case of a man from a village in East Central Scotland who became homeless when his wife asked him to leave the family home.

The individual, who uses crutches following the amputation of one of his legs, said: “The first meeting I had with someone from the homeless team at my local council was horrible. They spoke down to me, weren’t interested and, although they knew I was sleeping in my car, said I wasn’t homeless.”

Shelter Scotland spoke to the council on the individual’s behalf and told them they were breaching his legal rights. The council eventually housed him in a one-bedroom flat in the same village as his family.

In total, 55 per cent of Shelter Scotland’s case load in 2016/17 came from Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Dundee and South Lanarkshire.