The organisation says the last year has been the most challenging for social housing since the Scottish Housing Regulator was formed in 2012
The Scottish Housing Regulator has warned there is a “systemic failure” in the delivery of homelessness services by some local authorities.
The regulator stated that for some councils the number of people who are homeless and their level of need exceed capacity in the system to respond.
This issue is particularly pronounced regarding the availability of suitable temporary and permanent accommodation.
In a statement from George Walker, the Scottish Housing Regulator’s (SHR) chair, and chief executive, Michael Cameron in regulator’s annual report, they said “the increase in capacity that is needed goes beyond that which the impacted councils can deliver alone”.
They added: “That it what we mean by systemic failure.”
They referred to Scottish government statistics, which show that the number of people in temporary accommodation, the number of times that councils fail to provide temporary accommodation, and the number of breaches of the Unsuitable Accommodation Order are all at record levels.
The regulator emphasised that it expects all social landlords to make their best efforts to meet statutory obligations on homelessness, but recognised that “the last year has been the most challenging for social housing since SHR was established in 2012 and the challenges look like they will continue into 2024-25 and beyond”.
According to Scottish government statistics, in the 2023/24 financial year, there were 40,685 homelessness applications recorded, a 4% increase compared to 2022/23 when there were 39,308.
The number of households in temporary accommodation rose by 9% to 16,300 in 2024.
Despite current challenges, the organisation said that most social landlords are performing well against the outcomes of the Social Housing Charter, the framework which sets out the standards their housing and services must meet.
However, it said that “even then we could see signs of the challenges they will face in sustaining those levels of performance”.
The SHR noted that social landlords make a significant contribution to reducing child poverty and improving health outcomes.
It said that social landlords will strive to sustain that contribution, but that their ability to do so is being significantly affected by cost inflation, rising interest rates, and a tightening of public finances, as indicated by financial projections and ongoing discussions with these landlords.
It said these strains will result in a reduction in housebuilding, restrictions on maintenance expenditure, and less being spent on work to support tenants to stay in their homes.
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The regulator’s annual report stated that most landlords have also yet to factor in future costs for achieving the new Social Housing Net Zero Standard.
Looking ahead, Walker and Cameron stated that “the coming years are likely to remain unpredictable, volatile and difficult for those who rely on social housing and for those who provide it”.
The regulator acknowledged that landlords will need to put resources into “the most critical and immediate issues” such as homelessness, decarbonising homes, alleviating fuel poverty and focusing on tenant safety, all while keeping rents as affordable as possible.
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