Homelessness figures are climbing high in Dumfries and Galloway amid an increase in evictions – and private landlords cashing in on the booming housing market.
The number of homeless applications this summer has jumped by a third compared to last year, primarily due to relationship break-ups.
However, a return to pre-Covid eviction rules and more private landlords selling their houses are also factors in more families being left without a roof over their head.
Dumfries and Nithsdale Provost Tracy Little has described the situation as “alarming”, while Mid Galloway and Wigtown West Councillor David Inglis was busy last week trying to help a mother who had been kicked out by her landlord.
A homeless report tabled at the council’s communities committee last week stated: “The main underlying factors for increased presentations is breakdown in household relationships. In addition, the reinstatement of eviction actions, and increase in private landlords serving notice to quits with a view to selling their properties in the current buoyant property market, is also impacting the service.
“While the prevention work being done by the welfare and housing options team to prevent evictions is making a difference, the service is seeing more presentations due to financial impacts.”
Council financial wellbeing and revenues officer Lorna Campbell told last week’s committee that “the sheer demand for temporary accommodation has been extremely challenging.”
There have been 325 applications to Dumfries and Galloway Council for temporary homeless accommodation between April and June this year.
This is 82 more than the same period last year – and an increase of 33.7 percent.
The number of out of hours cases rose from 44 to 64, while the number of households in temporary accommodation is up from 177 to 190.
Mid Galloway and Wigtown West Councillor David Inglis told the communities committee how he was assisting a family last week who had been turfed out of a private let.
He said: “She has a good job, lives in the town she works in, and her child goes to school in the town she’s living in.
“She was in private rented accommodation, was handed her notice, and found it really difficult to get anywhere. She had to get out of the house this week.
“The homeless service have done their best and have been trying really hard to find her somewhere.
“One of the issues for me though is late on in the day on Monday or Tuesday, she still had no idea where she was going to be that night.
“At 4.55pm she got a phone call and the same happened the following day. She was living in this limbo, not knowing where she was going to be.
“I’m just wondering whether we can look at that, and see if people who find themselves in that situation are not left until the very last minute until they know what roof they’re going to be under for the next night or two.”
During the pandemic, the Scottish Government introduced an eviction ban, however this has now changed back to pre-coronavirus notice periods.
A landlord can now ask a tenant to leave in 28 or 84 days. The number of days will depend on how long the tenant has lived in the property and the reason why the landlord is asking them to leave.
