Homeless families in Dundee are living a ‘life in limbo’ in the current housing crisis, according to charity Shelter Scotland.
Families in the city have been forced to wait an average of 285 days for accommodation, it revealed.
More than 1,000 households in Dundee were assessed as homeless last year, the charity said.
Shelter published a report into social housing delivery across Scotland’s four largest cities, including Dundee.
The charity also provided figures for Angus, Fife and Perth and Kinross.
Waiting times for families in temporary accommodation in Fife stretch up 220 days.
Perth and Kinross waiting times average at 100 days, and in Angus the average is 154 days.
‘People faced with either paying the rent or putting the heating on’
The cost of living crisis has put more pressure on people and families in temporary accommodation.
Children are especially vulnerable with reports of the crisis outlining how families will fall into poverty.
Alison Watson, director of Shelter Scotland, said: “People are faced with either paying the rent or putting the heating on.
“Families are living a life in limbo living in temporary accommodation.”
She added: “The disruption to children’s lives and wellbeing is well known.
“The most important thing to keep in mind is that home is that foundation for us all to thrive.”
The report comes after a Scottish Government pledge to build 110,000 affordable homes across the country by 2032, committing £3.5bn for the next five years.
The government’s Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) aims to use 70% of these homes for social housing.
The programme provides funding for local councils to develop their own plans for social housing, otherwise known as Strategic Housing Investment Plans (SHIPS).
Each council develops their own five-year-plan, outlining how they will meet their housing targets.
This is where the report claims that Dundee is falling short.
The Shelter report shows only 68 social homes were built in the city during financial year 2020-21, compared to 112 two years previously.
‘Decades of under-investment in social housing’
Alison said a lack of social housing is to blame, following the popularity of the right to buy scheme, which gave council and housing association tenants the right to buy their rented home at a discounted price.
The scheme was introduced by Margaret Thatcher’s government in 1980 and was abolished in Scotland in 2016.
During this time, 494,580 homes were removed from social housing through the sales.
Alison hopes the report will put pressure on the government to replenish housing stock.
“We really welcome the Scottish Government’s pledge to build housing,” she said.
“We want to press parliament to jointly prioritise building homes as quickly as possible.”
She added: “Decades of under investment in social housing is the underlining problem.
“In the buy-to-own scheme, half a million homes were sold in Scotland.”
Thousands of homeless in Tayside and Fife
Data provided by Shelter revealed over 2,000 households in Fife were assessed as homeless last year.
In Perth and Kinross there were 598 homeless households, while in Angus the figure is 385.
A Dundee City Council spokesperson said the authority is working to build more social housing.
They said: “Work is about to be or is currently being carried out to provide a further 599 new affordable homes for Dundee residents within this financial year and to add to those already completed by the council and its partners.
“Affordable homes will be delivered on 10 different sites, including Ellengowan Drive, South Victoria Dock Road, and the former primary schools of Charleston and St Vincent’s.
“The council’s Strategic Housing Investment Plan includes additional accessible housing for adults with either learning disabilities, physical disabilities or mental health disabilities, to allow them to receive the appropriate care and support that they need within their local community.
“The council’s long-term City Centre Strategic Investment Plan will also help to prioritise future development opportunities for affordable housing in the city centre area.”
