Young Scots Face A Bleak Future In Housing Crisis

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Increasing numbers of Scottish people are being made homeless amid a housing crisis fuelled by crippling Tory welfare cuts – and half those who feared losing their home or finding themselves on the streets are aged 16 to 34.

According to research by the homeless charity Shelter, figures show a higher proportion of young people bearing the brunt of the housing problem, which is reflected in a surge of applications to Shelter for help in the past year, when 21,000 Scots needed advice on keeping a roof over their heads. Scotland’s renters also reported an alarming range of problems relating to housing costs, conditions and issues with landlords – resulting in 825,000 unique visits to Shelter’s online advice service.

Alison Watson, Shelter’s deputy director, told the Daily Record: “This report shows the disproportionate impact of Scotland’s housing crisis on young people and private renters, who are both ­over-represented in the number of people we helped. The terrible shortage of truly affordable homes, harsh welfare reforms, stagnant wages, and the high cost of keeping a roof over their head are the main reasons driving people to ask for help.”

“The statistics speak for themselves – on average, a household in Scotland becomes homeless every 19 minutes. Unknown numbers are sofa surfing with friends and family as they don’t have, or cannot afford, a home of their own. We were contacted by more than 1,000 households who were already homeless. Behind those statistics are people, families, individuals – people on low incomes, people with complex needs, people in crisis – some of the most vulnerable people in our society.”

Research at the time suggested the number of rough sleepers could be more than double the government figures. The Glasgow Homelessness Network estimated that, from their observations, up to 800 people regularly sleep rough. The analysis found most are men, who often have mental health problems and drug and alcohol ­dependencies. Researchers found these issues were usually brought on by “traumatic ­childhood experiences”, such as abuse. The crisis in Glasgow came despite the council taking ­responsibility for finding ­accommodation for homeless people since a law change in 2012.

Labour housing spokeswoman, Pauline McNeill, MSP, called for the SNP to take housing seriously. She said: “This report shows that young people are bearing the brunt of the housing crisis, with many trapped in a vicious cycle. Thousands of young people can’t afford the deposit for a home and don’t have access to social housing so are forced to rent privately – but the rent is so high, many can never save enough.”

“Labour have been putting pressure on the SNP Government for months to take the housing crisis seriously. That means building more homes with a national ­house building strategy, creating jobs and cutting poverty levels – but also reforming the private rented sector. Ensuring everyone has access to a warm, safe home they can afford will have a huge effect on building a fairer Scotland.”

But SNP Housing Minister, Kevin Stewart, refuted this, saying: “We have ­delivered 60,000 affordable homes in our time in office, reintroduced council housing, ended right to buy, and are supporting people into home ownership. In ­addition, we are building at a rate faster than anywhere else in the UK, and we have built 41,000 more homes than would have been built at England’s slower per-capita rate. That’s the equivalent of a new town the size of Paisley. We are on track to deliver even more houses in this ­parliamentary term with our commitment to deliver at least 50,000 affordable homes – including 35,000 social homes, backed by over £3billion investment.”