The Homeless Persons (Unsuitable Accommodation) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2020

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order amends the Homeless Persons (Unsuitable Accommodation) Order 2014 (“the 2014 Order”) by extending its scope to include all homeless persons rather than particular types of household.

Article 2(4) extends the types of accommodation that are always unsuitable to include accommodation not meeting safety standards.

Article 2(5) provides two further circumstances in which accommodation is unsuitable, unless article 6 of the 2014 Order applies.

Article 6 of the 2014 Order is amended so that paragraph (d) applies to accommodation the use of which is secured by a local authority (for example from a charity) but is not owned by the local authority. Article 6 is also amended to include further categories of accommodation.

Article 3 temporarily modifies the 2014 Order in response to the coronavirus pandemic. It allows for temporary accommodation to be provided for homeless households by way of accommodation within hotels and bed and breakfasts. This would have been a breach of the Order which only allows for such accommodation to be provided for a seven day period, but the amendment allows local authorities to provide such accommodation where such persons need to self-isolate or otherwise comply with physical distancing guidelines, which have come into being as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. This provision expires on 30 September 2020.