Building hope for children in temporary accommodation
Thousands of children have no place to call home.
In Scotland, 10,715 children live in temporary homeless accommodation that's often unsuitable, overcrowded, and far from their schools and support networks.
The Scottish Government has made numerous commitments to tackle this issue, but the statistics show that the situation is getting worse. It's up to us to make sure the government makes good on its promises.
How temporary homeless accommodation affects children
Children have told us how temporary accommodation affects their safety, health, education and development. Children are often moved far from their schools and support networks, affecting their access to education and healthcare. Overcrowding is common, denying children their rights to privacy, relaxation and play, while poor conditions such as damp, mould, vermin and a lack of cooking and washing facilities affect children’s physical and mental health.
Children can spend years trapped in temporary accommodation – creating long-term instability and making it impossible to settle.
The reality of the housing emergency
10,715 children are stuck in temporary homeless accommodation
2,445 households with children have been in temporary homeless accommodation for more than a year
1,310 breaches of children's right to suitable accommodation were recorded in 2025/2026
It's time for action
Action must be taken to reduce the number of children in temporary accommodation, reduce the length of time they spend there, and improve the suitability of that accommodation.
If no action is taken, another generation of children will be trapped in homeless accommodation that does not meet their needs.
'Building Hope', a joint project between Shelter Scotland and Fife Gingerbread, aims to act as a catalyst for this action. Supported by funding from the Robertson Trust, the project will influence national policy and local authority practice to reduce the number of children in temporary homeless accommodation and ensure that children’s rights are upheld.
As part of this project, we have created the Building Hope route map, which sets out the actions the Scottish Government must take over the next year to deliver on their own commitments to children in temporary accommodation.
So far, we have:
published our Beyond Pledges report: Beyond Pledges: The Implementation Gap for Children in Temporary Accommodation - Shelter Scotland
brought the housing, homelessness and wider children's sector together at our Building Hope rally
delivered an open letter to First Minister John Swinney, calling for urgent action to end child homelessness
met with the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice and Housing alongside parents with lived experience of temporary accommodation to deliver a route map to change
Find out more
Read more about our advocacy and research work that supports our goal to make sure every child in Scotland has somewhere safe to call home.