The commencement of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 marked a radical shift in the duties of Scottish councils to homeless people.  For the first time, all homeless people in Scotland had a right to temporary accommodation. This put significant additional demands on councils to provide temporary accommodation.  As a result, the number of homeless applications to Scottish councils increased by 18 per cent in two years. 

Traditionally, many councils have relied on bed and breakfast (B&B) as one element of their temporary accommodation provision.  Bed and breakfast use therefore rose relative to the increase in demand for temporary accommodation.  However, this took place alongside a long-standing consensus in the homelessness sector that B&B accommodation is not a suitable option for homeless families with children.

These guidelines focus on alternatives to bed and breakfast accommodation, by looking at:

• the recent Unsuitable Accommodation (Scotland) (Order) 2004 and some of the developments in the homelessness field that preceded it
• some actions that councils across Scotland are taking to minimise the impact of B&B 
• a number of cost saving options which can assist councils to reduce their use of B&B
• the need for each council to adopt a Temporary Accommodation Strategy incorporating B&B reduction
• a variety of initiatives that councils can take to reduce or end their reliance on B&B, such as changes to allocations policies and practice, reviewing assessment procedures and developing a range of alternative temporary accommodation resources
• alternative sources of temporary accommodation including: Private Sector Leasing Schemes, leasing RSL accommodation and converting council stock as temporary accommodation.