Glossary

the “1987 Act”

The Housing (Scotland) Act 1987, as amended.

This is the homelessness legislation which sets out the duties of local authorities to those who apply as homeless and the rights of homeless applicants in Part II (sections 24-41).

Appeal

A homeless applicant has the right to seek a review of certain decisions made by the local authority. The right to a review is sometimes referred to as an appeal.

Eligible / eligibility

In the context of homelessness, eligibility relates to whether or not the applicant is subject to immigration control.

Emergency accommodation

See Temporary accommodation

Homeless

A person is homeless if they have no accommodation available to them in the UK or elsewhere.

There are also various circumstances where a person is treated as homeless even if they have accommodation available to them, as set out in section 24 of the 1987 Act.

Interim accommodation

See Temporary accommodation

Judicial review

The legal process where the lawfulness of decisions of the local authority can be challenged.

The Court of Session is the Court responsible for deciding Judicial Reviews. It has the ‘supervisory jurisdiction’ for regulating the process by which decisions are made. The Court of Session is not an appeal court. Judicial review will examine the way in which a decision has been made and whether the decision is lawful.

Judicial review is a remedy of last resort. This means that the Court would expect a homeless applicant to request a review (sometimes known as an appeal) of a decision in the first instance.  

Judicial review can also be sought where there is a breach of statutory duty (such as a failure to secure temporary accommodation).

There is a strict 3 month time limit for raising judicial review proceedings, from the date a decision has been made, or the date which there has been a breach of statutory duty. The Court may extend the time limit if it is equitable to do so, however this is at the discretion of the Court and depends on all the circumstances. It should not be assumed that the time limit will be extended.

In the right circumstances, interim orders can be sought urgently from the Court to compel the local authority to perform their statutory duty pending a full decision on the judicial review.

Permanent accommodation

Where the local authority have a duty to secure permanent accommodation, this includes accommodation secured by (1) a Scottish Secure tenancy, (2) a Short Scottish Secure tenancy where there are grounds to do so because of anti-social behaviour and (3) a Private Residential Tenancy.

Private Residential Tenancy

The type of tenancy which is now granted in the private rented sector since 1 December 2017. It is governed by the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016.

Rapid Access Accommodation

This is emergency accommodation for rough sleepers or those at risk of rough sleeping. This type of accommodation must be of a good standard and provide the homeless applicant with their own private and lockable bedroom with support provided.

A homeless person can only be placed in rapid access accommodation if they agree to this.

Where they do so and the standards above are met, this accommodation does not breach the UAO / Unsuitable Accommodation Order.

Review

A homeless applicant has the right to request a review of certain decisions made by the local authority, as set out in section 35A of the 1987 Act.

A request for a review must be made no later than 21 days after the date the applicant is notified of the decision. The local authority has a discretion to allow a late review.

A review must be carried out by a person senior to the original decision maker and who was not involved in the original decision-making process. A review decision must be issued in writing and provide reasons for the decision.

Scottish Secure Tenancy

The type of tenancy granted in the social rented sector. It is governed by sections 11-33 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001.

See also Short Scottish Secure Tenancy

Shared Tenancy

This is accommodation which is shared by no more than 5 people which must be of a good standard and the homeless applicant will have their own private and lockable bedroom.

A homeless person can only be placed in a shared tenancy where they agree to this.

Where they do so and the standards above are met, this accommodation does not breach the UAO / Unsuitable Accommodation Order.

Short Scottish Secure Tenancy

This is a probationary tenancy granted in the social sector which may be created only if certain grounds exist as set out in Schedule 6 to the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001. 

There is limited security of tenure in a SSST compared with a Scottish Secure Tenancy. It is generally more straightforward to terminate a SSST and obtain an eviction order. A person facing eviction proceedings should always seek advice.

A person who has a Scottish Secure Tenancy may be served with a notice converting their SST to a Short SST should a ground exist.

This type of tenancy is governed by sections 34-37 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001.

There is provision for SSSTs converting (or reconverting) to a SST in section 37 of the 2001 Act.

Settled accommodation

Generally, this refers to an offer of permanent accommodation under the homeless legislation

Statutory duty

A duty arising from legislation. In the context of homelessness, these duties are contained in the 1987 Act.

Temporary accommodation

Accommodation which a local authority has a duty to secure (1) where a homeless application is accepted and pending enquiries and an initial decision (2) pending a review of a homeless decision and (3) pending an offer of permanent accommodation.

This is known as the interim duty to accommodate.

Such accommodation is often variously referred to as interim, emergency or temporary accommodation.

Where a local authority have decided that they do not owe a duty to secure permanent accommodation (because, e.g. they have decided the person is intentionally homeless), they have a duty to secure accommodation for such a period as they consider will give a reasonable opportunity to the person to secure their own permanent accommodation. This often means that people stay in their temporary accommodation until the local authority decide that the accommodation is to be brought to an end.

Unsuitable accommodation

This refers to temporary accommodation which does not comply with the UAO / Unsuitable Accommodation Order.

the UAO / Unsuitable Accommodation Order

The Homeless Persons (Unsuitable Accommodation) (Scotland) Order 2014, as amended.

This is the law that defines what constitutes unsuitable accommodation.