Category: News

Housing emergency risks return of communal night shelters, research finds

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People facing homelessness in Scotland are once again at risk of trauma and harm as the housing emergency threatens the return of old-style communal night shelters, experts fear.

The warning, echoed by people with lived experience of using shelters, comes as groundbreaking research from Heriot-Watt University details how Scotland ended use of ‘shared air’ shelters from 2020-2024, following decades of work by the third sector and local and national government.

The University’s Institute for Social Policy, Housing, Equalities Research (I-SPHERE) sets out evidence of the serious impact communal shelters can have on people, including exposure to infectious disease and violence, and raises concerns the housing crisis could see more shelters open to fill gaps in emergency accommodation. But the research also shows a return to responses that prioritise good support and access to housing is achievable.

The peer-reviewed research, published in the International Journal on Homelessness, provides the first detailed analysis of how Scotland closed its emergency shelters during the pandemic and maintained a shelter-free response from 2020 to 2024.

Scotland’s approach included rapidly relocating residents to single-room accommodation and establishing Welcome Centres as multi-agency triage hubs. Within eight months, this emergency measure had evolved into formal Scottish Government policy to end dormitory-style shelter provision permanently. This was enabled by policy building blocks developed over previous decades, including strong legal rights to housing, a substantial social housing sector and robust welfare protections.

These foundations resulted in Scotland having comparatively low levels of rough sleeping, 40% lower than England, making shelter closure more achievable than in nations with higher rough sleeping rates.

The research also documents the extensive evidence of the harm caused by emergency shelters while demonstrating there is no evidence that shelters provide a pathway to permanent housing.

Shelters can result in:

  • Some people choosing to sleep rough and take other potentially life-threatening risks rather than use shelters
  • Worse health outcomes than receiving no support at all
  • Violence, infectious disease and drug-related harms from communal living
  • Rules and curfews that limit people’s freedom, high stress, stigmatisation and the feeling of being treated like a child
  • Damaged relationships with friends, family and children
  • People dealing with serious challenges trapped in cycles without their needs being met

Lived experience views

Suzanne, who has experienced homelessness and researched other people’s experiences of using services, said: “With the women it is all about safety. A lot of guys didn’t feel safe but what really came across was that women would rather sleep in the street or hook up with a guy to get away from having to go to the shelter.

“If the only alternative is an unregulated shelter, women would swerve towards going somewhere safe instead. A lot of people feel unsafe when they go into a shelter and can be triggered by the environment, causing them trauma and bringing up past trauma. Shelters are a sticking plaster. Until we come up with a solution there’s still a demand for them. We need an alternative.”

James, who also experienced homelessness, said: “My experience of night shelters was after presenting in Edinburgh. I was handed a list of churches where I could sleep on the floor. I had all my stuff with me, I was pointed to a yoga mat and given an itchy blanket.

“I lay uncomfortably cuddled into my backpack as I was worried it would be stolen when I was asleep. I pretty quickly realised many people were injecting legal highs. At some point during the night there was a queue for the toilet.

“People were sharing injecting equipment, and I later learned that at this point there was an HIV outbreak. This was not communicated and presented a serious risk to those arriving who were already struggling and vulnerable. Some of the community I met in that shelter were later sleeping in a mausoleum in a graveyard rather than using shelter accommodation.”

Threats to a shelter-free approach

Critically, the research identifies the serious threats to maintaining Scotland’s shelter-free approach, including:

  • Rising demand pressures: Homelessness applications increased by 10% in a single year (2021/22-2022/23), temporary accommodation use rose 29% in three years, and the Scottish Parliament declared a national housing emergency in May 2024.
  • During winter 2023/24, Glasgow’s Welcome Centre experienced surges in demand that strained resources.
  • Barriers for people with No Recourse to Public Funds: Current restrictions mean this group can only access emergency accommodation for limited periods, pushing vulnerable people towards rough sleeping or creating pressure for shelter provision.
  • Community pressure: In January 2024, a volunteer-run shelter opened in Glasgow despite concerns from people with lived experience about their safety as well as health risks and increased anti-social behaviour in the vicinity.

Professor Beth Watts-Cobbe, lead author from Heriot-Watt University’s Institute for Social Policy, Housing and Equalities Research, said: “Our research demonstrates that ending shelter use is achievable, as Scotland proved between 2020 and 2024. This was possible because of policy foundations built over decades combined with rapid action during the pandemic to relocate shelter residents to single-room accommodation.

“However, this progress is now under serious threat from rising demand, inadequate provision for people with No Recourse to Public Funds, and community pressure to reopen dormitory-style shelters. The evidence is clear that shelters perpetuate harms among exceptionally disadvantaged people and fail to provide pathways to sustainable housing. Returning to dormitory-style provision would represent a significant failure to minimise housing-related harms to those who are most in need of support.

“The key lesson from Scotland’s experience is that shelter-free responses are possible but require both the right policy foundations and sustained commitment to maintain them. Other jurisdictions can learn from Scotland’s approach but must recognise that creating these enabling conditions takes deliberate policy choices and adequate resourcing over time.”

The research acknowledges the important role of the Everyone Home Collective, convened by Homeless Network Scotland, in building cross-sector agreement around a shelter-free vision. Their Welcome Centre approach means providing rapid access to single-room accommodation.

We know the solutions

Maggie Brünjes, chief executive of Homeless Network Scotland, said: “For too long, the public image of homelessness has been stuck in an outdated stereotype of night shelters – basic, dormitory-style spaces congregating people in crisis, often accepted as inevitable and ‘good enough’ for those at the hardest edges of society.

“This critical new research highlights Scotland’s remarkable achievement in maintaining a shelter-free response from 2020 to 2024, decisively shifting to self-contained temporary accommodation and settled housing in the community. This hard-won progress – driven by leadership from Glasgow and Edinburgh local authorities, adaptive charities that modernised their services and strong Scottish Government policy – now risks reversal amid surging demand and the national housing emergency.

“People with first-hand experience, academics and charities have long made the case that communal shelters cause unnecessary harm and fear. The joint manifesto from the Everyone Home collective and All in For Change unites these interests ahead of the 2026 election, spelling out the solutions that need scaled for a Scotland where everyone has a home. This research shows that real progress is possible – but only through sustained investment and political commitment.”

The research also notes how both Bethany Christian Trust in Edinburgh and Glasgow City Mission, faith-based organisations that previously operated shelters, played important roles in relocating residents during the pandemic and have become providers of the alternative Welcome Centre model.

The researchers now urge policy makers to:

  • Maintain commitment to avoiding dormitory-style emergency provision, recognising that returns to this model represent failures to minimise housing-related harms
  • Address rising demand pressures through increased social housing supply, enhanced homelessness prevention, and adequate resourcing of alternative provision
  • Remove barriers preventing people with No Recourse to Public Funds from accessing emergency accommodation beyond single nights, recognising that current restrictions push vulnerable people towards rough sleeping
  • Invest in and expand alternatives to shelters including single-room accommodation to provide access to mainstream housing with support
  • Recognise that maintaining the policy foundations that have enabled a shelter-free Scotland to be maintained

The research emphasises that Scotland’s experience provides important lessons for homelessness policy globally, particularly in the Global North, demonstrating that reliance on harmful dormitory-style shelters is neither inevitable nor necessary. However, it acknowledges that Scotland’s achievement was enabled by comparatively low rough sleeping levels and specific policy foundations developed over decades.

Read the full paper

Scottish Budget: Only investment will turn Scottish housing rights into housing reality

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Scotland has some of the strongest homelessness rights in the world, but those rights are being fatally undermined by chronic underfunding and a persistent failure to deliver social homes at the scale required. Legislation cannot house people. Only investment can do that – and the forthcoming Scottish budget is an opportunity to make that happen.

Today, more than 17,240 households are trapped in temporary accommodation, including 10,180 children, who are waiting on average 238 days for a settled home.

Behind those figures sit the realities that shape lives for decades: disrupted education, worsening health, exhausted parents and children denied the stability every one of them deserves.

These are not inevitable outcomes. They are the consequence of political choices that the Scottish government now has the power to change.

The Everyone Home Collective and All in for Change organisations have set out an election manifesto grounded in lived experience, frontline expertise and rigorous evidence: Housing Justice: scaling solutions for a Scotland where everyone has a home. Its message for the Scottish budget is clear.

Scotland needs a Big Build. We need at least 15,693 new social homes every year of the next parliament, backed by £8.8 billion of capital investment, according to independent research commissioned by the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, CIH Scotland and Shelter Scotland.

Some in Holyrood claim this scale isn’t logistically possible. We disagree. Yes, challenges exist – but they’re not fixed. Today’s delivery rates – more than 7,000 affordable homes last year – are held back by  limited funding and short-term priorities.

Put the full investment on the table with genuine urgency and the building industry, housing associations, planners and supply chains will step up. We’ve seen it before: when Scotland commits with ambition and resources, capacity grows to meet the moment.

This scale is not aspirational. It is the minimum required to reduce the housing need currently affecting 693,000 households, and to relieve pressure on a system spending millions on unsuitable temporary accommodation – hotel and B&B rooms – that leaves individuals and families in limbo. Without a step-change in housing supply, homelessness will continue to rise no matter how well-intentioned our policies are.

But supply is only part of the picture. Poverty, inequality and restrictive UK welfare policies remain the strongest and most persistent drivers of homelessness. When incomes fall short of the most basic cost of living and rents soar beyond reach, people fall into crisis long before they cross the threshold of a homelessness service.

Upstream prevention

That is why prevention must move upstream – and the budget must reflect this. Scotland’s new prevention duties offer real potential, but only if services across housing, health, social care, justice and policing are resourced to identify risk early.

Frontline workers are already stretched to breaking point. They cannot compensate indefinitely for failures elsewhere in the system. A budget committed to housing justice must ensure that the burden does not fall on those already doing the heaviest lifting.

Crucially, it must also shield those being hit hardest by the housing emergency: people experiencing deep poverty, discrimination, trauma and gender-based violence. Our manifesto calls for fast-track access to housing and support for people facing systemic disadvantage – a targeted approach backed by evidence, not rhetoric.

It also means confronting an uncomfortable truth: not everyone is at equal risk of homelessness, but the housing emergency now affects people who were previously considered secure. Soaring rents, a shrinking supply of affordable homes and rising living costs are pushing more people into instability.

Housing justice is a simple idea. When everyone has access to a decent home, everyone benefits. Individuals, families, children, communities, society, the economy. It is the foundation on which health improves, education stabilises, inequality narrows and communities thrive.

The January 2026 Scottish budget is a defining moment. If Scotland wants to be credible on homelessness, three decisions are essential.

Firstly, fund the Big Build at scale and across multiple years. Only long-term certainty will allow councils and housing partners to plan and deliver the homes people urgently need.

Secondly, invest in a coherent system of prevention. That means backing ‘Ask and Act’ so it works. This is a new legal duty in Scotland that requires a wide range of services outwith homelessness to ask about someone’s housing situation and, if necessary, take action to help prevent their homelessness. With proper training, delivery resources and joined-up working, Ask and Act can stop homelessness before it starts.

Lastly, spend smart on joined-up support. Those hit hardest by the housing emergency often face overlapping crises like trauma, addiction and mental health problems – yet public services are built to tackle just one issue at a time. Fixing this mismatch will prevent the worst harm to those worst off.

By investing in these priority areas, a Scottish budget with the idea of housing justice as its cornerstone can get us closer to creating a fairer country where everyone has a home.

Ending destitution for excluded people is possible – if Scotland acts at scale

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Scotland has made significant and internationally notable progress in reducing destitution among people who are blocked from accessing mainstream support because of their immigration status, a major new evaluation has found. But the study warns that provision remains too limited to meet the scale of need.

The independent report examines the impact of Fair Way Scotland, an action-learning partnership providing integrated support for people with No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) or restricted or uncertain eligibility.

The model brings together specialist casework, modest financial assistance and access to community-based accommodation, helping people to meet basic needs and stabilise their circumstances. Funders, Scottish Government and charities are coming together today for a launch event to hear findings from the report and explore solutions that will reduce destitution.

The report found clear improvements in people’s safety and wellbeing when they receive consistent casework, access to community-based accommodation and modest financial support through Fair Way Scotland.

Authored by Heriot-Watt University and funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), the report outlines how these types of support can reduce harm inflicted on people and build a foundation for longer term progress.

Professor Beth Watts-Cobbe, Deputy Director, at the Institute for Social Policy, Housing, Equalities Research (I-SPHERE), Heriot-Watt University, said: “This evaluation demonstrates that Scotland has taken significant and internationally notable steps to prevent destitution. But the scale of current provision does not yet match the scale of need.

“We found strong evidence that consistent casework, safe accommodation and small but reliable cash payments reduce harm and support people to progress their immigration cases. The question now is whether Scotland is prepared to expand what clearly works so that no one faces destitution.”

The report highlights the exceptional disadvantage facing people supported through Fair Way Scotland:

  • 93% of those surveyed were destitute
  • Almost one in five were sleeping rough at the point of contact
  • More than half had slept rough in the past year
  • 17% had left accommodation because they did not feel safe

Importantly, outcomes improved the longer people engaged with support. Those receiving help for more than three months were significantly less likely to be sleeping rough, living in overcrowded conditions, moving repeatedly, or going without essentials like food and toiletries.

Demand, however, far exceeds what current resources can meet. The evaluation estimates that around 4,000 people across Scotland require this type of support each year, with the country making great progress by meeting around a quarter of that demand thus far.

Chris Birt, Associate Director for Scotland at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said: “This evaluation shows in stark terms both the effectiveness of Fair Way Scotland and the scale of unmet need. The model works – but demand is far beyond what the current system can cope with. Scaling Fair Way Scotland is now urgent, not optional.

“We need coordinated action from all tiers of government. The UK Government, Scottish Government and local councils need to better use the powers they have, underpinned by a clear commitment from housing associations to provide the safe, stable accommodation that is essential to reducing harm. And ultimately the UK Government need to stop using policy to create destitution. 

“If we are serious about preventing destitution, every part of the system must step up together.”

Frontline accounts within the report underline the difference stability can make. Workers describe how access to casework, legal advice and community-based accommodation enables people to progress their status and access support to which they are entitled.

The evaluation also reflects the voices of people directly supported by Fair Way Scotland. Many described how cash payments – usually of £60 a week – allowed them to buy food and travel, restoring dignity and reducing crisis.

The evaluation recognises that Scotland is the only part of the UK with a national strategy that explicitly commits to ending destitution for all, including those with No Recourse to Public Funds or restricted eligibility. Yet, progress remains slow, with local authorities and third sector organisations under increasing pressure.

Human rights lawyer Jen Ang, founder of Lawmanity, said: “Scotland already has more scope to act than many decision-makers realise. The evaluation shows that when existing powers are used confidently and consistently, people can be protected from the deepest harms associated with destitution.

“What stands out in this report is the strength of the evidence for scaling Fair Way Scotland. It offers a lawful, practical and humane approach that reflects Scotland’s commitments to dignity and fairness. The task now is ensuring that these findings translate into action so that support is available to everyone who needs it.”

Key recommendations within the report include:

  • Expanding community‑based accommodation
  • Widening access to specialist legal advice
  • Establishing a hardship fund for those excluded from mainstream support
  • Ensuring councils consistently use the powers available to them.

Beth added: “Scotland has the tools, evidence and experience to end destitution for those currently excluded from mainstream support. What is needed now is the resolve to act at scale. Doing so would prevent severe hardship, reduce avoidable harm and uphold Scotland’s commitments to fairness and dignity.”

Fair Way Scotland is a partnership of third sector organisations seeking to prevent homelessness and destitution among those with No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) in Scotland. Key Fair Way Scotland delivery partners include the Scottish Refugee Council, Simon Community Scotland, Turning Point Scotland and Refugee Sanctuary Scotland– supported by Homeless Network Scotland and learning partners Heriot-Watt University and Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

Specialist legal expertise is commissioned from a coalition of legal firms: Just Right Scotland, Latta & Co, Legal Services Agency, Settled and Shelter Scotland. COSLA and the Scottish Government are strategic partners, committed to working with Fair Way as part of their commitment to Ending Destitution Together and Ending Homelessness Together.

Read the report

Scotland urged to put ‘housing justice’ at the heart of next election

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People with lived experience of homelessness are uniting with dozens of leading organisations to demand urgent action on Scotland’s worsening housing crisis.

Their joint manifesto was launched at Scotland’s Annual Homelessness Conference, hosted by Homeless Network Scotland, on 27 and 28 October in Perth. It calls on all political parties to commit to a programme of housing justice that will ensure everyone in Scotland has a safe, secure place to call home.

The scale of the crisis has been laid bare in recent statistics, with more than 17,200 households currently trapped in temporary accommodation, a 6% increase in one year, including over 10,000 children.

Nearly 250,000 people are on waiting lists for a social home, and 40,688 households have applied to their local council for help with homelessness last year. On average, those in temporary accommodation wait 238 days for a settled home.

The call comes from members of Everyone Home, a collective of nearly 40 third and academic sector organisations focused on ending homelessness, and All In for Change, a platform that unites lived experience and practitioner insight of homelessness across Scotland to enable decision-makers to drive real change.

All in for Change said: “In the Change Team, we see every day how the housing emergency hurts people who are homeless and those trying to help them. Frontline workers do amazing work, but they’re trapped in a broken system with too little housing and support to fix it.

“Some of us have been homeless ourselves, so we know the reality first-hand. But we believe this can be made better for others, with real political commitment and funding being used more wisely. We’ve laid out clear expectations for party manifestos, and we’ll keep pushing to shield people from the worst of homelessness in this housing emergency.”

Set almost 18 months after Scotland’s housing emergency was formally declared, the manifesto outlines a practical, values-led approach to resolving a crisis that continues to deepen inequality and exclusion.

It sets out five priority actions for the next Scottish Government, under the banner of SCALE. It calls for the launch of a national ‘Big Build’ programme to dramatically increase the supply of social housing, with a target of nearly 16,000 new homes each year of the next parliament backed by at least £8.8bn.

The manifesto urges political leaders to coordinate support services more effectively, so that housing is fully integrated with health, social care and justice to ensure no-one falls through the cracks. It demands that public funding decisions align with housing priorities, including the use of tax powers and long-term investment plans that can give frontline workers and those they support greater certainty.

It insists that housing rights must be protected and fully resourced, warning that too many local authorities are currently struggling to meet their legal obligations. Finally, it calls for fast-track housing and support for groups facing systemic exclusion, including people affected by poverty, discrimination, trauma, gender-based violence and UK immigration policy.

Maggie Brünjes, chief executive, Homeless Network Scotland, said: “Scotland’s housing emergency is a plan gone wrong, driving homelessness and deepening inequality. To reverse this, we must invest in more social housing, higher incomes, proactive prevention and support that is fully integrated across health, housing, justice and social care. 

“The Everyone Home collective manifesto is a plan to put that right and a call for Housing Justice. Combining first-hand, professional and academic insight, the manifesto outlines real-world measures to reduce inefficient spending, prevent the worst harm among the worst off, and scale solutions for a Scotland where everyone has a home.”

The manifesto launch will take place at Scotland’s Annual Homelessness Conference, this year titled ‘It’s Personal: the human face of the housing emergency’. The two-day event will shine a light on the real-world, human impact of the crisis, through people with lived experience, advocates and experts sharing knowledge and practical ideas to deliver lasting change.

Helen Murdoch, Asst. Director of Strategic Operations & Development (Scotland) at conference delivery partner The Salvation Army, said: “This year’s conference takes place in the shadow of a housing and homelessness crisis that tests our compassion, our resources and our collective resolve.

“The demand for services that support people experiencing homelessness is far outstripping supply – that must change and change quickly. Conference is an opportunity to explore our role in bringing about that change and The Salvation Army is proud to be an event partner.

“It is also a time to look beyond the headlines and statistics, to recognise and celebrate the extraordinary courage and resilience of teams working in communities, the third sector, local authorities and religious bodies to support people experiencing homelessness.”

Keynote speakers include Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Màiri McAllan MSP, who will address the event, renowned children’s rights campaigner and author Baroness Floella Benjamin, and rising social justice advocate Eireann McAuley, named one of the Young Women’s Movement’s ‘30 under 30′.

Baroness Floella Benjamin OM DBE said: “Having a safe and secure home is the key building block for living a happy and fulfilling life, yet today that basic human need is being denied to too many people. The impact on them is heartbreaking.

“All it takes is the grit, perseverance and determination to face the challenges and to keep on pushing for positive change. There is no shortage of people willing to fight this fight and I support all those who are working to change people’s lives.

“When I address Scotland’s annual homelessness conference I hope to energise and inspire the audience, to bring them joy amid the struggle. I want to remind people that even though it sometimes doesn’t feel like it, the work they do every day can and does change lives. So never give up.”

The launch marks the start of a national conversation aimed at ensuring housing and homelessness are top-tier priorities ahead of the 2026 election.

Housing (Scotland) Bill set to cement homelessness prevention in law

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MSPs have passed the Housing (Scotland) Bill. This is a landmark moment for the many organisations that have been working for years to prevent homelessness – and more importantly, for people who have experienced or are at risk of homelessness.

The Bill’s prevention measures in Part 5, if resourced and delivered properly, will create a robust legal framework for preventing homelessness. Along with increasing housing supply, prevention is the key to bringing about positive change.

And we need that change, fast. Homelessness and rough sleeping are still rising, and record numbers of children are living in temporary accommodation, as shown in the recent homelessness statistics for 2024/25.

We have the legislation. Now we need to make sure it is implemented and resourced properly, otherwise people will continue to suffer harm and years of hard work by everyone involved in this process will count for nothing.

Why is this important?

Homelessness causes well documented and wide-ranging harm to individuals, communities and ultimately society. It’s about the mum and her kids stuck in temporary accommodation with lives on hold – often far from support networks, school and friends.

It’s about the people stuck in dire hotel and B&B rooms which no one would choose to live in and which cost councils staggering sums – in one area surpassing £100 million a year.

And it’s about the people who experience the deepest disadvantage through factors including poverty, discrimination and UK immigration policy – those in our communities who are most likely to sleep rough or risk other unsuitable options because of a lack of decent accommodation with access to all the support they need.

Preventing homelessness averts trauma, stigma and indignity. It makes communities safer. It reduces pressure on homelessness services by shifting the focus from crisis intervention to upstream prevention. And it reduces the significant knock-on costs homelessness brings to the door of NHS, mental health, addiction and justice services.

Ask and Act – developed through lived experience insight

The ‘Ask and Act’ proposal in Part 5 is a key part of the legislation. It widens responsibility for preventing homelessness beyond homelessness services to include a range of relevant bodies including social landlords, police, health services and social security. It’s a step towards making homelessness prevention everyone’s business.

Simply, it will require frontline staff to ask someone they are working with about their housing situation and act to help prevent them becoming homeless if a risk is identified. If implemented properly, this measure will reduce the flow of people to statutory services, which in many areas are under intolerable pressure because of the housing emergency.

All in for Change – a team with direct and frontline experience of homelessness, facilitated by Homeless Network Scotland in partnership with Cyrenians – played a crucial part in developing this measure through the Prevention Review Commission, working in tandem with the cross-sector Prevention Review Group. This is a proud moment for the Change Team and follows years of dedicated hard work. And it proves once again how integral the voices of lived experience are to getting change right.

Upstream prevention and protecting lives

The Bill’s measure to extend the time frame when someone is considered to be at threat of homelessness from two to six months is another vital element of the legislation, as are measures to prevent homelessness for people affected by domestic abuse, and measures to deliver support that matches the needs of people locally, a key driver of tenancy sustainment.

Scaling up Housing First for those who need it

Similarly, the Bill’s measures aimed at scaling up delivery of Housing First – a social home with wraparound support – are welcome. Housing First should be the first response for people whose homelessness is made worse by mental health, trauma and addiction. But Housing First currently only meets 9% of estimated need in Scotland despite very high tenancy sustainment rates (80%-90%).

Introducing the requirement for an annual report that monitors what is being done to expand provision is important, as is ensuring that Housing First is delivered consistently in line with international Housing First principles. This will reduce harm. And as with other prevention activity, it will reduce spending on other services including health, addictions and justice.

Making a good system work – for everyone

We have the evidence-backed policies to create a housing and homelessness system that puts people and their right to housing at the centre, with a focus on securing a settled home quickly and providing all the support an individual needs to sustain their tenancy.

Making this system of Rapid Rehousing work as intended depends not only on sufficient supply of social and affordable homes, but also on creating an effective suite of prevention tools that clarifies duties and responsibilities – which this legislation has put in place.

We will continue to work collectively to ensure the prevention measures are effectively implemented, including through the £5million pilot schemes to explore scaling up what works and unearth innovative ways to prevent homelessness and keep people in tenancies.

Prevention is pivotal as it tackles homelessness at its root, stopping the spiral of crisis before it overwhelms families and individuals. We believe last night’s vote brings this day closer.

Want to find out more?

Read the Bill as passed.

⏩ Get your free briefing on the Housing (Scotland) Bill – as passed – at Scotland’s Annual Homelessness Conference on 27 and 28 October at Perth Concert Hall. This will be useful for those working in wider sectors (‘relevant bodies’) as well as colleagues working in housing and homelessness. Information and conference booking.