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Temporary accommodation use in Scotland increased by 7.5% during one month in lockdown
The number of households living in temporary accommodation in Scotland increased by 7.5% during May, new data from the Scottish Housing Regulator (SHR) has revealed.
At the end of May, there were 13,175 households living in temporary accommodation in Scotland, up 7.5% on the previous month.
Councils in Scotland received 2,552 homelessness applications in May, an 11% increase on the amount received in April.
The data is part of a monthly dashboard released by the SHR to measure the impact of coronavirus on the social housing sector.
Data for last month also found that social landlords were experiencing an increase in rent arrears, with collective rent arrears for local authorities and registered social landlords standing at £156m, up 5.8% from April.
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The percentage of social housing staff placed on furlough remained fairly static, with 13.62% of staff on furlough in May, compared with 12.44% in April.
The number of social housing staff placed on furlough increased by 10% from 1,633 in April to 1,787 in May.
Meanwhile the total number of staff absences fell by 28% from 664 in April to 479 in May.
The regulator’s data also showed signs that the social housing letting process was starting to return to normal as landlords let a combined total of 1,050 homes in May, up 40% from 747 in April.
However, this number is still far behind the average number of new lets entered into per month by social landlords before the crisis. In 2018/19, social landlords let a combined average of 4,682 homes per month.
Michael Cameron, chief executive of the SHR, said: “These latest figures show the increasing pressures facing the social housing sector, people who are homeless and tenants and service users in the context of the coronavirus pandemic.
“More people are now in temporary accommodation and are waiting on a permanent home. And more tenants are struggling to pay their rent.
“Over the coming months we will continue to monitor and report on the ongoing impact of the pandemic on social landlords to help support the work of the Scottish government, the Social Housing Resilience Group and the social housing sector.”
