An open letter signed by nine organisations operating in the city was sent to members of Aberdeen City Council’s Communities, Housing, and Public Protection Committee yesterday.

Members will debate declaring a housing emergency at the committee’s next meeting on Thursday (5th September 2024).

The letter tells councillors that ‘business as usual is not working’ and that continued inaction is damaging the lives and opportunities of thousands in Aberdeen. It highlights the loss of 350 council properties to RAAC, the doubling of the number of children in temporary accommodation, and the skyrocketing number of breaches of the Unsuitable Accommodation Order as evidence of the city’s housing emergency. 

Arguing that declaring an emergency must ‘only be the beginning’, the letter calls for an action plan to be developed involving tenants, businesses, the third sector and the communities worst affected by the housing emergency.

Shelter Scotland director, Alison Watson, said: “I’m pleased that so many organisations working on the frontline in Aberdeen have backed our call for councillors to declare a housing emergency.

“Every day they see the devastating consequences of Aberdeen’s housing emergency, working to help people living at its sharpest edges, so they know how urgently the city needs to see action.

“The number of children living in temporary accommodation in Aberdeen has more than doubled in the last year, while the rate at which people’s housing rights are being breached is sky rocketing; business as usual simply isn’t working.

“We know the council can’t be expected to pick up the pieces of a failing system on its own, the Scottish and UK governments need to shoulder their share of responsibility, but by declaring a housing emergency councillors have a chance to be bold, take the lead, and show Aberdonians they’re willing to face up to the scale of the challenge.

“Declaring a housing emergency is the start of a journey, not the end, and needs to be backed by swift action. All the organisations who’ve signed this letter are willing to take that journey with the council and play our part in bringing the city’s housing emergency to an end.”