Housing association pledges 8,000 properties for homeless people by 2032

A housing association has pledged to provide 8,000 homeless people and families with a property to live in by 2032.

Wheatley Housing Group made the commitment as part of a draft refreshed agreement it has made with Glasgow City Council, which is yet to be approved.

A total of 4,850 homeless households are living in temporary accommodation in the city with 2,230 of those staying in hotels and B&Bs according to recent social care figures.

During April and May this year there were 464 homelessness applications from people granted refugee status.

In the draft strategic agreement with Glasgow City Council, Wheatley said it will “continue to allocate a high proportion of available homes to
homeless households, recognising the critical role this plays in relieving pressure on temporary accommodation.”

The document continued: “Our shared objective is to reduce reliance on temporary and emergency accommodation and support people to move as quickly as possible into settled, permanent homes, with the right support to sustain tenancies.

“We will work together to increase the supply of settled housing available to homeless households through a combination of new build development, acquisition of additional homes, and the refurbishment of empty properties to bring them back into active use.

“These approaches will support a sustained reduction in the use of hotels, bed and breakfast accommodation and other unsuitable forms of temporary housing.”

It comes as the city is gripped in a housing crisis and the council has appealed for people not to move to Glasgow until they have found “suitable accommodation.”

It said there are currently more than 6000 live applications awaiting housing on its website offering advice on accommodation.

The draft agreement running until 2032 will be presented to next week’s economy, housing, transport and regeneration city policy committee.

The current agreement was approved in 2023 but a new refreshed draft document has been produced as there has been sustained housing supply and homelessness pressures among other issues.

The draft agreement is to be approved by the city administration committee.

A council report said it “sets out shared priorities and a collaborative approach to delivering better outcomes for Glasgow’s citizens and communities, recognising that many of the city’s most significant housing, regeneration and social challenges require coordinated action across organisational boundaries.”