Housing insecurity and hidden homelessness: research
This qualitative study on housing insecurity and hidden homelessness in Scotland was commissioned by Scottish Government and carried out by external research contractors RSM UK.
Footnotes
1 Represented by Professor Suzanne Fitzpatrick and Professor Sarah Johnsen (until September 2023).
2 Represented by Professor Suzanne Fitzpatrick and Professor Sarah Johnsen (until September 2023).
3 As per Housing (Scotland) Act 1987.
4 We acknowledge that ‘sex for somewhere to stay’ and ‘survival sex’ are also used in the literature.
5 Some of these forms of rooflessness (e.g. sleeping in buildings not intended human habitation, in cars, or on buses/trains) are sometimes classed as ‘rough sleeping’, albeit not everyone/ everywhere describes or ‘counts’ them as such.
6 ‘Intersectionality’ is a term used to describe the interconnected nature of social categorisations such as race, class and gender as they apply to a given individual or group, which can overlap to create specific combinations of discrimination or disadvantage.
7 For more information, see Homelessness etc. (Scotland) Act 2003.
8 Currently being considered in Parliament at the time of writing this report.
9 HL1 data records the number of homelessness applications in Scotland and is compulsory for local authorities to complete.
10 Core homelessness refers to people in the most severe and immediate forms of homelessness (e.g., rough sleeping, sofa surfing, staying in hostels, refuges or unsuitable forms of temporary accommodation).
11 Local Housing Allowance Rates set the maximum amounts of housing support claimants of Universal Credit and Housing Benefit can usually receive for private rented homes of different sizes.
12 Note that the gender breakdown provided is based on data from 2023/2024.
13 Visible drivers of homelessness include poverty, breakdown of social relationships, housing market conditions, and complex needs.
14 Routes out of visible homelessness identified in the broader literature include accessing local authority homelessness services and accessing third sector organisations.
15 This individual did not fit this study’s definition of ‘hidden homelessness’.
16 This individual did not fit this study’s definition of ‘hidden homelessness’.
17 Definitions building on the work of P. Bourdieu (1986).
18 A child or young person is 'care experienced' if they are living, or have lived, in care at any stage in their life.
19 As per Housing (Scotland) Act 1987
Contact
Email: socialresearch@gov.scot