FOI Request - Homelessness, Rent Arrears and Financial Support Data
Request 101003961747
1. How many homelessness applications or presentations were made to your authority by applicants aged 18–40 in 2024–25?
2. Of those applications, how many cited each of the following as the main reason for the application (as recorded in the HL1 return)? Main reason categories:
a) Asked to leave by family or friends (non-violent)
b) Violent or abusive dispute within the household — including domestic abuse
c) Non-violent dispute with neighbours or other persons
d) Relationship breakdown (other than above)
e) Termination of private rented tenancy — due to rent arrears
f) Termination of private rented tenancy — for other reasons (e.g. landlord selling, end of tenancy)
g) Termination of local authority tenancy — due to rent arrears
h) Termination of registered social landlord tenancy — due to rent arrears
i) Termination of social tenancy — for other reasons
j) Mortgage default or repossession
k) Overcrowding
l) Leaving institution — including custody, hospital, looked-after child placement, or other
m) Emergency (e.g. fire, flood)
n) Other reason
3. Of those applications from applicants aged 18–40 in 2024–25 where an additional contributing factor was recorded, how many cited "financial difficulties, debt or unemployment" as an additional contributing factor?
4. Of those applications from applicants aged 18–40 in 2024–25, how many included a household member who had been previously looked after by a local authority (care leaver) as a child?
5. Of those applications from applicants aged 18–40 in 2024–25, how many had "financial difficulties" recorded as a support need (as recorded in the HL1 support needs field)?
Temporary Accommodation
6. How many households with a main applicant aged 18–40 were in temporary accommodation provided by your authority as of 31 March 2025?
7. Of those households, how many had been in temporary accommodation for more than 12 months as of 31 March 2025?
Financial Support
8. How many Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) were awarded by your authority in 2024–25 to applicants aged 18–40? If an age breakdown is not available, please provide the total number of DHP awards made in 2024–25, broken down where possible by purpose:
a) Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy (bedroom tax) mitigation
b) Benefit cap mitigation
c) Local Housing Allowance shortfall
d) Other housing cost shortfall, rent deposit or moving costs
Note: We recognise that bedroom tax and benefit cap DHPs in Scotland are effectively guaranteed once eligibility is confirmed. We are particularly interested in categories c and d, which reflect discretionary financial support decisions most directly relevant to this research. However, any breakdown your authority is able to provide is welcomed.
9. How many referrals to debt advice or money guidance services were made by your housing or homelessness team in 2024–25?
Policy and Practice Questions
10. At what stage in the homelessness assessment process does your authority first offer or refer an applicant to money advice, debt support or financial capability services? Please select the most accurate description:
a) At or before the initial application stage
b) During the assessment and investigation stage
c) During active case management
d) Only after the case is closed or a duty discharged
e) Not systematically offered, depends on the individual case
11. Does your authority have a dedicated financial inclusion, money advice or financial capability service embedded within, or formally linked to, your housing or homelessness team? (Yes / No / Signposting only to external services)
12. Does your authority provide or commission financial education or money management support specifically for care-experienced young people as part of their pathway out of the care system? If yes, please briefly describe the provision.
13. Does your authority systematically record whether financial literacy or debt knowledge gaps were a contributing factor in a homelessness application? (Yes / No / Not systematically)
14. Does your authority record whether a benefit delay, sanction or benefit system issue was a contributing factor in a homelessness application? If yes, please provide available figures for 2024–25.
Response 15-04-2026
1. 323 by applicants aged 18-40 at the time of application
2. Please be aware that information for some of your categories are not held at local authority level. For example, a relationship breakdown could influence several reasons for the application being made such as being asked to leave home and/or perhaps division and sale of the family home.
Information relating to your request is published and available on the Scottish Government website and is therefore exempt under section 25 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, information otherwise accessible. For ease of reference please find a link to the web page here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/discretionary-housing-payments-in-scotland-1-april-2024-to-31-march-2025/documents/
TABLE 1 of the information linked above shows the main reasons as classified by the Council’s database.
a) 108
b) 45
c) Refer to Table 1
d) Refer to Table 1
e) Refer to Table 1
f) Refer to Table 1
g) Refer to Table 1
h) Refer to Table 1
i) Refer to Table 1
j) Refer to Table 1
k) 7
l) 11
m) <5*
n) Refer to Table 1
TABLE 1:
App terminated secure accommodation - <5*
Asked to leave - 108
Discharge from prison/care/institution - 11
Dispute in household: non-violent - 30
Dispute in household: violent/abusive - 37
Emergency - fire/flood etc. - <5*
Fleeing non-domestic violence - <5*
Forced division & sale of matrimonial home - <5*
Harassment - 11
Loss of service/tied accommodation - <5*
Other reason for leaving accommodation - 66
Other reason for loss of accommodation - 7
Overcrowding - 7
Termination of tenancy - other landlord action - 19
Termination of tenancy/mortgage arrears/payment default - 11
3. 115
4. 43
5. SG’s Homelessness Data (HL1) Output Specification (v4, 22 July 2020) does not list “financial difficulties” as an option in the support needs field and so this particular is not held on our databases in isolation.
[However, 182 applicants had “Basic housing management / independent living skills / Housing support” recorded in this field which may have included support for finances.]
6. 93 Households
7. <5* Households
8. We have no information regarding the aware made to the 18-40 age group, however there is SCOT GOV published information relating to a), b), c) and d) within the information linked above https://www.gov.scot/publications/discretionary-housing-payments-in-scotland-1-april-2024-to-31-march-2025/documents/
- S.25 FOISA - otherwise accessible
9. 86
10. e) Correct
11. Yes - Since 1/9/2025 Money Advice Moray has now come under the umbrella of the Housing, Property and Communities and one of the main functions is to include a more proactive early intervention activity between Money Advice Moray and the Housing Teams within Moray Council to avoid loss of tenancy caused by rent arrears as well as mortgage repossession, sequestration or other statutory debt solutions
12. Our Income Maximisation Team can provide support to all members of the Moray community with budgeting and creating a personal budget to give service user more control and help make money go further
13. Not systematically
14. Not applicable for Money Advice Moray stats
* The low numbers associated with this response may result in the identification of individuals.
Therefore numbers between 1 and 5 have been redacted and marked with an asterisk instead. This response is exempt under Section 38(1)(b) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 - personal information.