Local Housing Strategy: guidance 2026

Homelessness

Preventing and Addressing Homelessness

The Scottish Government wants to ensure that nobody must face the blight of homelessness, and everyone has a safe, warm place they can call home. Strong homelessness rights mean that those at risk of homelessness are entitled to help and support from local authorities.

The Ending Homelessness Together: Updated Action Plan outlines how national government, local government and third sector partners will work together on our shared ambition to end homelessness.

The Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 places a statutory duty on each local authority to carry out an assessment of homelessness in its area and to prepare and submit to Ministers a strategy for the prevention and alleviation of homelessness. The Scottish Government expects this strategy to be included and within the LHS and fully integrated within a LHS, LHS annual review and associated monitoring processes. Local authorities will be aware of Scottish Government guidance on prevention of homelessness.

Any approach that is taken to address homelessness should be underpinned by robust, accurate and up to date evidence on the extent and nature of homelessness. People more likely to be at risk from homelessness are:

• those affected by domestic abuse
• leaving prison or hospital
• in other supported accommodation or leaving the armed forces
• refugees/people seeking asylum
• people with a mental health condition
• people using alcohol and drugs
• young people, including those leaving care

Local authorities are encouraged to consider this as part of the development of a LHS, including what strategies and policies are either in place or require to be put in place to prevent homelessness.

Local authorities should work closely with a range of stakeholders to help ensure that collaboration results in a positive and effective contribution being made to the homelessness agenda at a local level. This should include:

• Registered Social Landlords
• Private Sector Landlords
• the third sector
• people with lived experience of homelessness
• health and social care partnerships

The main focus should be on the prevention of homelessness through the Housing Options approach, developed by the Scottish Government, COSLA, Association of Local Authority Chief Housing Officers (ALACHO) and local authorities.

Gender-based Homelessness

Women’s experiences of housing are different from those of men. This includes women’s pathways into and out of homelessness, interactions with housing services, and access to affordable and adequate housing standards.

Although domestic abuse is one of the most common reasons for women to make a homelessness application in Scotland, other forms of gender-based violence, abuse, and exploitation including serious and organised crime, may make women unsafe in their homes. For example, sex for rent is not only harmful but can be a pivotal factor in pushing women into commercial sexual exploitation. A safe, secure, and affordable home is a major protective factor for women experiencing all forms of violence against women and girls.

Local authorities are encouraged to work with their local Violence Against Women and Girls Partnership to help inform the development of a LHS. They should ensure that a gender sensitive approach that recognises the dynamics of domestic abuse, is considered from the outset.

Local authorities are encouraged to consider Equally Safe: Scotland's strategy to eradicate violence against women and the Equally Safe: delivery plan.

Local authorities should consider a joined up approach in identifying individuals at risk at an early stage. This should be done by considering known milestones and anticipated changes of circumstance and by providing support through partnership working for effective housing provision and related services.

Young People and Care Leavers

The Scottish Government Code of Guidance on Homelessness identifies young people leaving care as requiring a prioritised, tailored approach. Local authorities as corporate parents should ensure through advanced joint planning between housing and social work departments that appropriate accommodation and any required support is in place for a young person leaving care as part of a supportive pathway planning process.

The Scottish Government’s Statutory Guidance on Corporate Parenting recommends that every corporate parent considers, in the context of their primary functions, their contribution towards providing safe, secure, stable and nurturing homes for ‘looked after’ children and young people leaving care.

A Housing Options Protocol for Care Leavers can help plan effectively for the corporate parent role. Scottish Government’s Social Housing Allocations Scotland Practice Guide published in 2019 (section 5.7) also includes information on corporate parenting. It sets out how social landlords will want to consider the needs of young people leaving care, kinship and foster carers and those looking to adopt in their allocation policies.

Impact of Welfare Reform on Temporary and Supported Accommodation

Welfare Reforms such as bedroom tax (removal of the spare room subsidy), freezes to Local Housing Allowance rates, and the benefit cap, have the potential to impact significantly on homelessness. All benefit changes should be taken into account when making decisions at local level in relation to temporary and supported accommodation requirements.

The use of hostels has diminished in favour of other forms of supported accommodation. However, in certain circumstances, there is still a role for hostels and an assessment of need for this type of accommodation may be required to be carried out by a local authority.

With the development of Housing First across Scotland – settled mainstream accommodation for people experiencing severe and multiple disadvantage – the use of supported accommodation and hostels has been under review by local authorities.

A local authority should set out in a LHS what its plans are in relation to the provision of supported accommodation, based on a local strategic assessment of support needs. This should ensure that supported accommodation is available for people who do not want, or cannot sustain, mainstream housing, including Housing First.

Rapid Rehousing

Rapid Rehousing Transition Plans were introduced following a recommendation made by the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Group in 2018. The initial five-year plans set out how each local authority would mainstream a rapid rehousing approach to homelessness, suitable for their local context.

The rapid rehousing approach requires local authorities to work in partnership with a range of stakeholders, including RSLs, the third sector, tenants and residents to reduce the length of time people spend in temporary accommodation.

Rapid rehousing not only looks to move people from temporary accommodation quickly, it also seeks to ensure that the settled accommodation provided is appropriate and sustainable. This requires a person-centred approach to be applied when considering, for example, individual needs, such as geographical location, proximity to social networks, access to education or work.

With regards to housing delivery over the period of a LHS, each local authority should consider and reflect any additional housing supply needs to support the delivery of rapid rehousing, including the size, type and location of properties required.

Summary of areas expected to be included in LHS

a. the local authority’s approach for the prevention and alleviation of homelessness.

b. a summary of the local authority’s assessment of homelessness in its area. This should include an overall homelessness figure, broken down by age, gender, location, household composition and the reason(s) for being homeless.

c. a summary of the local authority’s Housing Options homelessness prevention approach including how collaborative partnership working is helping to reduce inequalities for homeless people and what links there are with the local Housing Options Hub.

d. a summary of the appropriate support provision in place, or being considered, to help those already homeless and those at threat of homelessness. This should also include a particular focus on how the requirements of the Housing Support Duty are being addressed.

e. evidence of links to Scottish Social Housing Charter outcomes.

f. the Local Authority’s approach to the use of hostel provision including an assessment of any future hostel requirements as well as the need for supported accommodation. This should be informed by a consideration of current and future requirements and projected impacts, including welfare reform.

g. a short summary on the local authority’s approach to rapid rehousing, including the following areas:-

i. preventative action being taken to prevent homelessness

ii. plans around temporary accommodation provision including supported accommodation

iii. plans around provision of settled accommodation including the role of RSLs in this

iv. what partnership working there has been in the development of rapid rehousing

h. a short summary of the strategic fit between rapid rehousing and LHS priorities and outcomes.

i. a short summary of housing and housing related services that will drive continuous improvement in ensuring that women and girls at risk of and experiencing violence, abuse and exploitation, receive joined up, effective mainstream and specialist service support.

j. a short summary on the specific actions the local authority will take to support care experienced young people from entering homelessness.