East Renfrewshire Council are asking people who are thinking about selling their home to consider the local authority before advertising on the open market.
The local authority are asking people who are thinking about selling their homes to consider the local authority before advertising on the open market.
Delivered in partnership with the charity and social landlord Barrhead Housing, the campaign comes after East Renfrewshire declared a local housing emergency last year.
The council have been struggling with the shortage of social housing for a number of years – in 2018 homeless applications increased by 53%, in contrast to a 10% increase across the rest of Scotland.
Cllr Danny Devlin, housing and environment convener at East Renfrewshire Council, said: ‘Our aim with this campaign is simple – we want to increase the number of council homes available to local people. This is just one of the ways we’re working to tackle the local housing crisis we declared last year.’
To give context on the severity of the situation, in Autumn 2024 figures displayed 350 households in the region were accepted as homeless and awaiting an offer of accommodation. What’s more, almost 200 households were found to be in temporary accommodation, including B&Bs.
Lorna Wilson, chief executive of Barrhead Housing, said the new scheme is ‘an important element of the strategic agreement we signed with the council.
‘With out support, you can move on with confidence, while helping to provide more much-needed affordable homes in your community.’
The situation in East Renfrewshire unfortunately isn’t much different to the rest of Scotland. Last year the Scottish government declared a national housing emergency and several other local authorities in the country – including Edinburgh – have followed suit.
Photo by Wyatt Simpson via UnSplash
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