Glasgow City Council seeks £177m in contracts to lease up to 1,000 homes from private sector

Glasgow City Council wants to lease up to 1,000 homes from the private-rented sector to help deal with a homelessness crisis.

Over £177m could be spent on contracts to deliver temporary furnished homes as part of efforts to reduce a reliance on hotels and B&Bs.

It is hoped the move could also free up socially-rented homes for permanent lets.

Due to the demand on homelessness services, the council repeatedly breaches the unsuitable accommodation order by placing people in hotels or B&Bs for more than seven days.

A ten-year temporary accommodation strategy was agreed in May to “end the routine use” of hotels and B&Bs. At that time, around £4.5m per month was being spent on this type of accommodation.

Councillor Allan Casey, the council’s homelessness convener, said the tender will “significantly increase access to good-quality, suitable private-rented sector accommodation for use as temporary accommodation by households experiencing homelessness”.

“The purpose is to increase the supply of dispersed accommodation across the city and provide a more appropriate alternative to hotel and B&B accommodation,” he added.

“The tender is a key part of our ten-year temporary accommodation strategy which aims to reduce reliance on hotels and B&B and enable homeless households to spend the shortest period as possible in temporary accommodation.”

The council intends to award four separate contracts to deliver 250 properties by the end of year one. Contracts would run for four years, with the option to extend for a further three.

Housing providers would be expected to maintain their supply of 250 homes throughout the contract term. The deadline for bids is November 20.

The tender states: “The council requires suitable suppliers to provide private rented sector accommodation, to be used as temporary accommodation, for single people, couples, and households with children who are experiencing homelessness, and to provide a complete property management service in support of this provision.”

Suppliers can offer a range of property types, including apartments, detached, semi-detached or terraced dwellings and converted or purpose-built buildings. Some properties must be able to meet the needs of people with mobility or sensory impairments or other accessibility requirements.

The council said it currently has 2,498 temporary furnished flats, with the majority provided by housing associations. It receives 621 through Right There, a commissioned service which secures properties from private landlords.

It believes there is “untapped potential” in the private rented sector, which can increase the pool of suitable accommodation.

Cllr Casey said: “Expanding the role of the private rented sector is particularly important because increasing temporary accommodation through social rented stock can reduce the number of homes available for permanent lets to homeless households.

“The tender aims to make better use of Glasgow’s private rented sector by working with property management providers to source and manage additional homes across the city.

“This should provide households with accommodation which more closely resembles an ordinary home and supports more stable, community-based living arrangements, while allowing the service to respond more flexibly to changes in demand.”