Figures released yesterday show that from 1 April to 30 September 2024, homelessness applications numbered 20,823, an increase of 1% compared to the same period in the previous year. The new figures land in the same week that housing minister Paul McLennan wrote to the UK Government urging a rethink over a planned LHA freeze, due to come into force in April across the UK.

LHA rates used to calculate Housing Benefit and the Housing element of Universal Credit for private renters are set by Westminster. The amount of support available varies across the country based on local rental markets. Particularly acute shortfalls currently in Edinburgh and Glasgow place renters at increased risk of homelessness as they struggle to make up the difference between their rental costs and what they receive in LHA.

Helen Murdoch, assistant director (Scotland) with The Salvation Army, said: “Too many people in Scotland are just about managing their rents and often having to rely on our foodbanks, debt advice service and other support to make ends meet. Unfreezing the LHA would help to stop people losing their home and ensure families don’t have to cut essentials like food or heating to make ends meet. 

“On the day that homelessness applications are up yet again The Salvation Army is calling on the UK Government to reverse a planned freeze of LHA so that people on low incomes in Scotland who are eligible for help get the support they need to cover housing costs and the threat of homelessness is lifted.

“Here in Scotland measures to prevent homelessness are having some effect but more needs to be done. Too often, homelessness is not prevented and applications for help continue to rise.”

• Podcast: The holistic approach to homelessness with Helen Murdoch and Janet Haugh

The Salvation Army said it welcomes plans to embed homelessness prevention in the forthcoming Housing Bill in Scotland.

Helen Murdoch added: “There is much to celebrate in the Housing Bill as it has the potential to help people before they reach crisis point. However, anything we do here in Scotland is at grave risk of being undermined if the UK Government presses ahead with plans to restrict support for less well-off renters by freezing LHA rates later this year.

“Scotland has some of the strongest measures in place to protect people who are homeless but every year applications increase. Homelessness is destructive, throwing families into poverty, placing unbearable strain on individuals and piling pressure onto overstretched councils. We should be doing everything possible to prevent it. By reversing the planned LHA freeze, the UK Government would make a real difference, not only here in Scotland, also in towns and cities across the UK.”

According to Edinburgh Solicitors Property Centre, one-bedroom flats saw the second-highest increase of any property type in the Scottish capital at the end of 2024, with demand outstripping supply and rents at around £1,100 per month. The LHA rate for a one-bed flat in Edinburgh and the surrounding area is just under £700 per month. In Aberdeen, average rent for a one-bed in that period was £560.00, a six per cent increase on the previous year with an LHA rate of just under £440.00.

The Salvation Army runs homelessness services across Scotland, including 10 Residential services in Glasgow, South Lanarkshire, Perth, Edinburgh and Dundee; three outreach services in Greenock, Inverness and Aberdeen: two Housing First services in Glasgow and South Lanarkshire; two drop-in/hub services in Edinburgh and South Lanarkshire. It also provides support through its network of churches, from Stornoway to The Borders.