Homelessness in Scotland: 2024-25

Reasons for homelessness and prior circumstances

Key points in 2024-25

• Further increases in reporting of rough sleeping
• Increases in reporting of support needs over time

Why do households make a homelessness application?

Why do households make a homelessness application?

Chart 4: Most common reasons for homelessness remain consistent

Main reason for making an application for homelessness, as a proportion of all applications: 2024-25

The proportion (18% of all applications) citing non-violent household disputes has reduced over the past 5 years from 22% in 2020-21.  

There was an increase in the number of households applying for the reason of termination of tenancy due to rent arrears for local authority (of 33 or 18%), registered social landlord (of 58 or 41%) and private rented (of 52 or 15%) properties. It should be noted that these reasons combined account for only 2% of the total of all applications.

Over half (52%) of reasons for failing to maintain accommodation are ‘not to do with applicant household’. Mental health reasons are the next most common (27%). The number noting physical health reasons has nearly doubled (from 1,927 to 3,728) in the last five years.

What are the circumstances of the homeless population?

As part of the application process, information is gathered on the following: where the household became homeless from; whether anyone in the household had slept rough; whether anyone in the household was former armed forces; whether anyone in the household had been previously looked after by their local authority as a child; and any support needs.

Chart 5: Family and friends remain the most common property to be homeless from

Property type from which the household became homeless, as a proportion of all households assessed as homeless: 2024-25

Supported accommodation is the fifth most common for the second year in a row. The number of households recording this has increased by 27% (or 578 households) compared to the previous year, with numbers reaching nearly three times what they were in 2022-23 (2,736 vs 975). This will be related to the increase in applications from refugee households.

Chart 6: Continued increases in the reporting of rough sleeping

Applications where at least one member of the household experienced rough sleeping, 2014-15 to 2024-25

The proportion of households reporting rough sleeping in the previous three months and the night before making an application have both increased compared to last year – from 7% to 9% and from 5% to 6% respectively. The figures are the highest in the series for both measures since 2010-11.

These increases are largely driven by Glasgow with a numerical increase around 400 across both measures. Aberdeen City experienced notable increases with numbers more than doubling in the last year (from 100 to 255 reporting rough sleeping in the last three months).

There were 759 households assessed as homeless that had a household member that was previously a member of the armed forces. This accounts for 2% of all homeless households.

There were 1,103 homeless households that contained a household member under 25 that had been looked after by their local authority as a child. This accounts for 4% of all households with a household member under the age of 25.

The proportion of households reporting at least one support need was 51% - similar to the last few years. There have been some notable changes in the reporting of support needs since the collection began in 2007-08.

Chart 7: Largest increases in the reporting of mental health problems

Support needs identified for households assessed as homeless or threatened with homelessness, 2007-08 and 2024-25