Temporary Accommodation Charging Policy Consultation

We want to know your views on our revised Temporary Accommodation Charging Policy.

What we must do by law

By law, we have a duty to help applicants who are homeless or threatened with homelessness.  This is set out in the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987, as amended.  These duties include the provision of temporary accommodation until such time as we have determined the outcome of their homeless application.

Where we provide temporary accommodation, housing law states that the tenant should pay a reasonable charge, which is decided by the local authority.  When deciding what a reasonable amount to charge is, we must make sure that we cover all of the costs for providing this accommodation.  This includes the cost of management, service delivery, maintenance and repairs and void periods of the accommodation.

What is the temporary accommodation charge?

The temporary accommodation charge is set by calculating a rent and a homeless service charge:

• the weekly rent is equivalent to the average council house weekly rent based on the size of the property; and
• the homeless service charge is equal to the cost of providing temporary accommodation to homeless households.  This figure is then divided by the number of properties and 52 weeks to reach a weekly homeless service charge.

How do you work out the temporary accommodation charge?

The following table shows how we work out the temporary accommodation charge, by the size of the property:

How do you try to make sure that the charge is affordable for all?

When setting the charge for temporary accommodation, we will charge every household the same level, regardless of income.  However, we will always make sure that temporary accommodation is an affordable option to all.  To do this we will only seek to recover the cost from a household that we think they can reasonably pay.

It is the tenant’s responsibility to pay the full amount that we seek to recover.  

We will make sure that tenants get up to date information about benefit entitlement and where relevant, help fill in housing benefit application forms.

What if a tenant gets full Housing Benefit?

If a tenant gets full Housing Benefit, we will recover 100% of the temporary accommodation charge.

What if a tenant gets partial Housing Benefit?

If a tenant only gets some Housing Benefit, we will recover a reasonable amount.  This will be the average Council house rent, plus 25% towards the homeless service charge.

• If the amount of Housing Benefit the tenant receives is more than the reasonable amount, the Council will recover all of the Housing Benefit awarded.  
• If the amount of Housing Benefit the tenant receives is less than the reasonable amount, the tenant will have to pay the difference.  

What if a tenant does not get any Housing Benefit?

If a tenant is working and/or is not eligible for Housing Benefit, we will recover a reasonable amount.  This will be the average Council house rent, plus 25% towards the homeless service charge.

The following table shows how we work out what is a reasonable amount to recover, by the size of the property:

You can read the revised Temporary Accommodation Charging Policy.

You can read the "easy read" version of the revised Temporary Accommodation Charging Policy.

How to give your feedback

You can give your feedback on the revised Temporary Accommodation Charging Policy by filling in our short survey.

What happens at the end of the consultation?

This survey will close on Wednesday 2 August 2023.  We will then review and consider your comments and present a final Temporary Accommodation Charging Policy to our Housing and Community Safety Committee on 12 September 2023.

If you would like more information please email housingpolicy@moray.gov.uk.