Homelessness in Scotland: 2020-21 statistics

Released today Tuesday 29 June, findings for that period show:

  • There were 33,792 applications for homelessness assistance – a decrease of 3,251 (9%) compared with 2019/20
  • There were 27,571 households assessed as homeless or threatened with homelessness – a decrease of 4,010 (13%) compared to 2019/20
  • While the number of applications fell, there was also a reduction in the number of cases closed. As a result, the number of open homelessness cases at 31 March 2021 reached 25,226, a 10% increase compared to 31 March 2020. This peaked at 27,058 as at 30 September 2020
  • There were 13,097 households in temporary accommodation at 31 March 2021 – a 12% increase compared to 11,665 at 31 March 2020. This reached a peak of 14,151 at 30 September 2020
  • The most common reasons for making an application were ‘Asked to leave’ (27% vs 24% the previous year), ‘Dispute within the household / relationship: non-violent (22% vs 19% the previous year) and ‘Dispute within the household: violent or abusive’ (14% vs 13% the previous year)
  • There was a notable decrease in households becoming homeless from a private rented tenancy – a drop of 2,161 (42%) from 5,145 to 2,984. 11% of households assessed as homeless in this period gave this as their previous accommodation type, compared to 16% in the same period in 2020. This may be due to a reduction in the number of evictions due to emergency coronavirus legislation temporarily extending eviction notice periods
  • There was a 44% reduction in households assessed as homeless in Edinburgh in 2020/21 compared to 2019/20, from 3,402 to 1,912. This was largely due to a 67% reduction from a private rented tenancy (264 in 2020/21 compared to 802 in 2019/20) compared to 42% nationally. In addition, Edinburgh also experienced a decrease of those becoming homeless from either ‘parental / family home / relatives’ or ‘friends / partners’ of 35% (from 1,532 to 1,002) compared to a national increase of 7%
  • Homelessness applications that closed in 2020/21 that used temporary accommodation spent 199 days in temporary accommodation on average.  This increased from 187 days the previous year
  • There were 605 cases of households not being offered temporary accommodation in 2020/21 – a fall of 87% (from 4,590) compared to last year. 525 of these were in Edinburgh
  • 80% of homeless households (18,313 out of 22,967) secured settled accommodation in 2020/21, increasing from 64% in 2002/03, and a drop from 83% last year
  • It took 248 days on average from assessment to closure in 2020/21 for cases assessed as homeless – an increase from 225 in 2019/20
  • 58% of main applicants were male; 62% were aged 25-49; 70% were single person households; and 87% were of White ethnicity

Full report can be read here: https://www.gov.scot/news/homelessness-statistics-2020-21/