Temporary Accommodation Statistics
type: Dataset
conforms to: http://mlcommons.org/croissant/1.0
contact point: ContactPoint
date modified: 2026-08-13T12:36:36.692653
date published: 2026-08-13T12:35:23.016014
description: Homeless applicants may be placed in temporary accommodation while the Local Authority assesses their application or while awaiting the offer of a permanent let. The figures on households in temporary accommodation relate to households which have been placed in temporary accommodation by a Local Authority under the Homeless Persons legislation. This will include households for whom the Local Authority's decision and final action is still pending, as well as households which were secured such accommodation as a final action by the authority under the legislation. The data provide a snapshot picture of the numbers in temporary accommodation as at the last day in each quarter and are collected in the summary HL2 return.
accuracy: Given the continuous nature of the recording system, figures are updated on an ongoing basis and may differ from those previously published. There may be delays in some cases being reported to the Scottish Government due to IT issues, quality assurance processes and delayed entry of data - particularly at the end of the financial year.
comment: These figures show a snapshot figure of the number of households in Temporary Accommodation per local authority at 31st March each year.
completeness: Operation of the Homelessness Persons Legislation in Scotland is available on the [Scottish Government website.](https://www.gov.scot/collections/homelessness-statistics/) Tables included in the bulletin are also available to download from website in Excel. The publication is available as a web page and in PDF formats.
confidentiality: All disclosive figures are rounded to 5.
consistency: HL2 Figures provide a snapshot number of households in Temporary Accommodation. This should not be mistaken for the total number of households in temporary accommodation over a given financial year.
geographical coverage: S92
geographical coverage: S12
license id: uk-ogl
next update: 2026-09-01
quality management: The quality of these figures depends critically on the quality and consistency of the information supplied to us by Local Authorities on the HL1 and HL2 returns. The quality statement on the [Scottish homelessness statistics website](https://www.gov.scot/collections/homelessness-statistics/) sets out the ways in which we do this. The main focus of our systems is to ensure consistency between the HL1 and HL2 returns and consistency of the case level information within each HL1 return.
reference period: PeriodOfTime
  end date: 2025
  start date: 2008
timeliness: Operation of the Homelessness Persons Legislation in Scotland is published around five months after the end of the relevant period. Data gathering and error correction errors from all local authorities usually takes around 3 months to complete. The report production timetable takes a further month. There is one month extra in the timetable as a contingency against staff illness and unforeseen circumstances: \u2022 Annual data for 1 April to 31 March are published in August.
uniqueness: Not assessed
update frequency: annual
validity: Operation of the Homelessness Persons Legislation in Scotland is used to monitor trends in homelessness and to provide information on the implementation and effectiveness of Scottish homelessness legislation. Crucially, this statistical output is used to monitor the implementation of the Scottish Government's 2012 homelessness target. That is, by 31st December 2012, the priority need test should be abolished. The Homelessness Statistics User Group meets twice yearly and is consulted on to ensure that Operation of the Homelessness Persons Legislation in Scotland remain relevant to users and make best use of the available data.
will be updated: true
included in data catalog: CKAN
keywords: Housing
license: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
record set: records

Scottish Government
type: Organization
contact point: ContactPoint
  contact type: customer service

Measurement
type: Field
data type: Text
source:
  extract:
    column: Measurement

temporary-accommodation-statistics.csv
type: FileObject
description: Data file for Temporary Accommodation Statistics
comment: These figures show a snapshot figure of the number of households in Temporary Accommodation per local authority at 31st March each year.
dictionary: Column
  column: GeographyName
  type: text
dictionary: Column
  column: Units
  type: text
dictionary: Column
  column: DateCode
  type: int
dictionary: Column
  column: Measurement
  type: text
dictionary: Column
  column: GeographyType
  type: text
dictionary: Column
  column: GeographyCode
  type: text
dictionary: Column
  column: Value
  type: int
encoding format: CSV

Units
type: Field
data type: Text
source:
  extract:
    column: Units

DateCode
type: Field
data type: Integer
source:
  extract:
    column: DateCode

GeographyType
type: Field
data type: Text
source:
  extract:
    column: GeographyType

GeographyCode
type: Field
data type: Text
source:
  extract:
    column: GeographyCode

GeographyName
type: Field
data type: Text
source:
  extract:
    column: GeographyName

Value
type: Field
data type: Integer
source:
  extract:
    column: Value