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Glasgow Council failing to house homeless people quickly enough, regulator finds
Glasgow Council is failing to house homeless people quickly enough, the Scottish Housing Regulator has warned.
In a report looking at how effectively Scottish registered social landlords work to find homes for homeless people, the Scottish Housing Regulator concluded that homeless people in Glasgow are spending too long in temporary accommodation waiting for a home.
In 2016/17 the council found homes for nearly 2,000 families, but this was only around half of those families it had a duty to house. People spent on average 238 days in temporary accommodation.
The council has a target to find 3,000 homes for homeless people each year, but the regulator said this is “too low for the number of people it assesses that the council has a duty to house”.
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The regulator also found the council “loses contact” with around a quarter of people who are homeless while they wait for a home and the “length and complexity of the process” of rehousing people in Glasgow is a “significant factor in this”.
Some housing associations in Glasgow refused homelessness referrals from the council because the person had rent arrears from a former letting. The regulator said this is “not a good reason” to refuse to house a person and the council does not always challenge the refusal.
The latest Scottish Government statistics show there were 2,023 families living in temporary accommodation between July and September last year, a 4% increase on 2016.
Michael Cameron, the regulator’s chief executive, said: “Local authorities have a duty to provide homes to people who are homeless. Registered social landlords have a duty to help them do that.
“The council is not housing enough people who are homeless quickly enough and it is not referring enough people to registered social landlords to meet the housing need. Some registered social landlords make a good contribution to providing homes to people who are homeless, some have more to do.
“We expect the council and its partners to respond positively to the recommendations in our report. The council must improve urgently the services it provides for people who are homeless.”
A spokesperson for the Glasgow Council said: “We welcome the fact the report regards our focus on a person centred, needs led approach to identifying solutions for those with complex needs as a positive development.
“However, we accept that improvements within the system are still required to ensure people who present as homeless can move into a permanent home as soon as possible.
“We are currently working to a comprehensive improvement plan which is reshaping how homelessness services are being delivered in Glasgow, and we have worked very closely with the regulator on this over the past two-three years."
