Temporary homeless accommodation is attracting complaints in the Highlands, a committee has heard.
Several councillors reported issues with antisocial behaviour and vandalism, calling for more staff to deal with the challenges.
However, housing managers say the issue is with a “minority” of tenants and not just with those in temporary accommodation.
Highland Council has moved away from providing homeless accommodation in HMOs (houses of multiple occupancy) and instead provides temporary housing.
However, some councillors are concerned about how these tenancies are managed.
Dingwall councillor Angela MacLean highlighted a £228,000 overspend in the homelessness budget of the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) and a further £101,000 overspend in the non-HRA accounts. The overspend was attributed to repairs and maintenance.
Mrs MacLean asked: “Is this just about giving the house a lick of paint to make it ready to give back to the property owner or next tenant, or is it about damage to the properties?”
She added: “When I’m speaking to people they’re saying ‘So and so down the road has vandalised that property and they just got a new kitchen.'”
Mrs MacLean asked for further information on where the costs came from and whether these tenants need more support.
Homeless accommodation ‘must be managed well’
Inverness councillors Janet Campbell and Bet McAllister shared similar concerns. Mrs Campbell says she’s had a number of complaints from people living close to temporary homeless accommodation.
She suggested some tenants may lack the skills to manage a tenancy or could encounter problems with their neighbours.
While she’s in favour of providing temporary accommodation for the homeless, Mrs Campbell says the tenancy “must be managed well”.
With this in mind, she questioned why the council is reporting a £222,000 underspend in housing staff.
“I want to ask respectfully could we have a briefing on the increase of houses for homeless people and the appropriate staffing levels to deal with all the ongoing problems that we’re facing,” she said.
Mrs Campbell’s ward colleague Bet McAllister put it more bluntly: “The money should be going on people who have houses that are a number of years old and need lots of things replacing. They’re paying their rent, and looking after their homes the best way they can. To spend all that money on people who are just damaging their homes all the time… I just don’t get it.”
‘This is a minority of tenants’
Housing manager David Goldie said it’s a “difficult and complicated situation”.
He explained that the council will always repair properties before returning them to new tenants or private landlords. The challenge comes in differentiating between fair wear and tear, and deliberate damage and neglect.
In cases of deliberate damage, the council will re-charge the tenants, but Mr Goldie admitted they rarely get the money back.
However, he stressed that this is not solely an issue with homelessness.
“There are a minority of people who will wilfully damage a property,” he said. “Not all of those people are homeless or in temporary accommodation – it happens across our housing stock.
“This is a challenge for housing management in how we identify those people and deal with those issues.”
Mr Goldie said the council has different powers depending on the type of lease. He added: “I don’t disagree with the principle that we should take a firm line.”
The committee agreed that the council should review staffing numbers and the type of support that tenants might need.