Homelessness isn’t being caused by lack of homes

New Scottish statistics on homelessness came out this week, and they are pretty devastating. From a nation that set a target to eliminate homelessness, things are going the wrong way on almost every metric. The number of homeless households is up on the previous year (35,002, up 346), the number being assessed for homelessness is up (41,443, up 197), the number reporting sleeping rough in the three months prior to application is up (4,115, up 536!), and there has been a substantial rise in the number of households in temporary accommodation (19,004, up 10%).

The last figure is particularly notable as it suggests a substantial increase in triaging situations rather than providing permanent solutions, and while the time spent in temporary accommodation before a permanent home is found is down slightly, the substantial rise in cases coming in behind folk that far along in the process does not bode well.

The far-right has been directing anger at people who are, if anything, even more vulnerable than the families who are struggling to find a safe and secure place to live but the truth is that there simply aren’t that many asylum seekers in Scotland to be the cause of the homelessness crisis. Estimates are that there are only around 7,000 or so asylum seekers in Scotland at the moment. And, by definition, someone seeking asylum is likely living at the behest of the UK Home Office and so couldn’t be “skipping the queue” for a house anyway.

But this isn’t to downplay the overall problem. Homeless families aren’t evenly spread around Scotland, and so local pressures do exist – particularly in Glasgow (though their argument may be somewhat undermined by them simultaneously trying to close down homeless shelters). And many of the places used for temporary accommodation (at great expense to the public purse, it should be added) are not fit for purpose.

The UK asylum system does play a role in the crisis. When someone’s asylum claim is deemed valid (as the majority of claimants are after appeals are considered), then they are essentially turfed out of the meagre support the Home Office did give them. Without the ability to work before being granted refugee status and now without even an unsuitable home to live in, it’s no wonder that the Government has pushed so many vulnerable people into homelessness.

The problem is that there aren’t enough suitable homes to give to homeless households, except that’s not quite it either. There’s a somewhat hidden problem in Scotland to do with homes that could be a major part of the solution.

In July, housing statistics were published that show that of Scotland’s 2.7 million dwellings, 20,900 were deemed “second homes” and 89,400 were deemed “vacant”. Of the latter, 45,000 probably had a good reason to be vacant. These are houses that are newly built and waiting for their first occupant, are vacant because the old occupant has moved out, but the new occupant has not yet moved in, or they are undergoing substantial repairs or demolition.

However, that means that 44,500 houses in Scotland have been vacant for more than six months (many of them for more than a year) and don’t fall into one of the above exemptions – houses owned but which aren’t being used by the owner, even as a holiday home.

This means that there are enough empty houses in Scotland to house all of Scotland’s homeless households. It’s not going to be as simple as that – a house in Glasgow isn’t much use to someone homeless in Inverness, and the house needs to suit the needs of the person who can use it – but it’s clear that there are assets in Scotland not being properly used that could be.

We know that the best solution to homelessness is to give people a home. Scotland has already accepted the viability of a Housing First approach to homelessness. “Housing First” is such an effective policy that it has been found that giving a homeless person in Scotland a house for free is about £10,000 per year cheaper than the cost of leaving them homeless.

So Councils need to be enabled to do this. Scotland has devolved control over property taxes and has recently made it easier for Councils to add surcharges to those taxes for second or vacant homes. These powers should start to be used much more aggressively to encourage people to either use their property more efficiently or to sell it to someone who will. Councils also have the power to force a Compulsory Sale or even to enact a Compulsory Purchase of such homes, and the Scottish Government should consider it part of their homelessness strategy to give Councils the resources to bring such houses into (and often back into) the social housing pool so that they can be given to vulnerable people.

A nation that has people without houses, while at the same time has enough houses without people to end Homelessness isn’t a nation with a housing supply problem. It’s one where houses are being treated as assets to enrich their owners rather than to act as homes. Scotland should start asking itself an important question: Which is more important – property rights, or human rights?