Housing options (PREVENT1) statistics in Scotland: 2021 to 2022

Household circumstances

The most common reasons for housing options approaches are returning towards pre-pandemic proportions

Chart 2: Reasons for housing options approaches, 2019/20 to 2021/22

An exception is non-violent household disputes which decreased below the pre-pandemic proportion reaching the lowest since the collection began in 2014/15.

For some of the lesser common reasons there is a slightly different trend with proportions of violent household disputes, fleeing non-domestic violence and harassment similar to 2020/21 proportions, remaining above those pre-pandemic.

The largest proportionate increase compared to last year was ‘risk of losing accommodation’. This may be influenced by the lifting of the above mentioned COVID-19 legislation, although this isn’t reflected in the proportions for termination of tenancy / mortgage due to rent arrears / default on payments.

Biggest increase in last year in proportion of approaches made from private rented tenancies and biggest decreases from family, friends and partners

Chart 3: Property type from which the household made an approach, 2019/20 to 2021/22

The lifting of the earlier mentioned emergency coronavirus legislation is likely to have contributed to the increase in approaches from the private rented sector.

The trends in reasons and property types are similar to those experienced for households assessed as homeless in 2021/22.