Why we are engaging with Aberdeen City Council (Aberdeen City)
We are engaging with Aberdeen City about its services for people who are homeless, service quality and tenant and resident safety.
The context in which local authorities are delivering services to people who are experiencing homelessness has become increasingly challenging in the last few years. In our December 2023 update to our thematic report on homelessness services in Scotland we set out that there is a heightened risk of systemic failure impacting the delivery of some local authorities’ services to people experiencing homelessness. By this we mean that there is a risk that the demands on some local authorities could shortly exceed their capacity to respond. This remains the case at Aberdeen City. We will continue to monitor, assess and report on Aberdeen City’s performance in discharging its duties to people who are homeless.
During 2025/26, we reviewed and compared the data for all local authorities from the Scottish Government’s national homelessness statistics. We also spoke to all local authorities to gather further information and assurance about their homelessness services.
In 2026/27, we will engage with Aberdeen City about its assessment of homeless applications.
To assess the risk to social landlords we have reviewed and compared the 2024/25 service quality performance of all social landlords. We will engage with Aberdeen City Council because the average time it takes to re-let homes is one of the highest of all social landlords as is its level of rent arrears.
A significant number of Aberdeen City’s tenants’ homes do not fully comply with electrical safety requirements which came into force in early 2022 and form part of the Scottish Housing Quality Standard. Aberdeen City is progressing inspections to provide Electrical Installation Condition Reports in all of its tenants’ homes.
We are engaging with Aberdeen City to monitor its progress in completing this outstanding work as quickly as possible and maintaining future compliance.
What Aberdeen City must do
Aberdeen City must:
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send us the information we require in relation to its homelessness service;
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continue best efforts to meet its statutory duty to provide temporary accommodation when it should and to comply with the Unsuitable Accommodation Order;
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keep us updated on its capacity to meet its statutory duty to provide temporary accommodation when it should and to comply with the Unsuitable Accommodation Order;
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improve its re-let time and rent arrears performance and tell us when it has delivered the necessary improvements;
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complete the outstanding electrical safety work as quickly as possible; and
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send us monthly updates on progress on achieving compliance with electrical safety requirements. Each update should include the latest projected timescale for achieving full compliance.
What we will do
We will:
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review the information Aberdeen City provides about its homelessness service and engage as necessary;
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meet with Aberdeen City on a quarterly basis to discuss its homelessness service, and in particular seek assurance about its best efforts to provide suitable temporary accommodation, and engage as necessary;
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review the information that Aberdeen City provides about its improvements to its re-let time and rent arrears performance and engage as necessary;
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review Aberdeen City’s progress with its plan to achieve and maintain compliance with electrical safety requirements and engage as necessary; and
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update our published engagement plan in the light of any material change to our planned engagement with Aberdeen City.
Regulatory Returns
Aberdeen City must provide us with the following annual regulatory returns:
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Annual Assurance Statement; and
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Annual Return on the Charter.
It should also notify us of any material changes to its Annual Assurance Statement, and any tenant and resident safety matter which has been reported to or is being investigated by the Health and Safety Executive or reports from regulatory or statutory authorities or insurance providers, relating to safety concerns.