Shelter Scotland

New statistics have highlighted the continued daily struggle of thousands of households across Scotland to keep a roof over their head. Released today, the figures for 2014 gathered from housing and homelessness charity Shelter Scotland’s free national helpline and services teams showed that 16,30

Nicola Sturgeon First minister Nicola Sturgeon has laid out plans to introduce new bills to improve security for private tenants, introduce rent controls and abolish the ‘bedroom tax’ as early as possible.

An annual report into the tenure of Scottish households has renewed calls from across the sector for an “urgent need” for more affordable homes. Results from the Scottish Household Survey 2014 found that the social rented sector has declined from 32 per cent of all households in 1999 to 24 per c

Alison Johnstone Fresh calls have been made for the Scottish Government to increase the availability of affordable homes after average rents in the private sector reached an all-time high.

Graeme Brown Shelter Scotland has cautioned against Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) being viewed as a long-term solution to Scotland’s housing crisis after new figures revealed a 37 per cent increase in the number of awards.

Margaret Burgess A consultation is underway to gather opinions on a new code of practice for letting agents and the requirement for letting agents to undergo training before they can be added to a register.

West Dunbartonshire Council has defended its evictions approach saying the method is only ever used as a last resort. An increase in evictions by the local authority from eight last year to 34 this year has been described as “very worrying” by housing charity Shelter Scotland.

East Lothian Council has pledged its support for a campaign calling for reform of the private rented sector. The council joins local authorities in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee by signing up to support Shelter Scotland’s Make Renting Right campaign which aims to make Scotland’s growing private

Illegal rent fees are still being charged by letting agents across Scotland, a BBC investigation has found. The Scottish Government clarified rent laws in 2012, specifying that any fee beyond rent and a refundable deposit was illegal.

Sarah Boyack The cost of renting private sector accommodation in Edinburgh has prompted fresh calls for the introduction of rent controls.

The average price for a house sold in Scotland was 3.5 per cent higher in the first quarter of 2015-16 than compared to the same period last year, according to new figures. Official statistics published by Registers of Scotland (RoS) revealed that the average house price in Scotland from April to Ju

Debbie King reports back on Shelter Scotland’s Illegal Evictions campaign We’ve now come to the end of the Illegal Eviction – Know Your Rights campaign where we worked with Police Scotland, Crimestoppers Scotland and the Scottish Association of Landlords. The information campaign raised awaren

Graeme Brown As many as 1,000 young Scots will be forced into homelessness as a result of the “catastrophic” impact Tory welfare cuts could have on our most vulnerable 18 to 21-year-olds, Shelter Scotland has warned.

Homelessness levels in Scotland could rise as part of a Scottish Government drive to crack down on overcrowded houses, charities and housing chiefs have warned. As reported in The Scotsman, the concerns have been prompted over the introduction of Overcrowding Statutory Notices (OSN) aimed at guardin

Players from Motherwell FC turned up to surprise staff and volunteers as they opened the doors to a new charity furniture shop yesterday. Defenders Steven Hammell and Craig Reid helped to carry donations into Shelter Scotland’s furniture shop, greeted customers and signed items for sale. All proce