Dundee’s Housing Emergency

and Why Collective Action Matters

A home is a human right - Dundee needs urgent action.

Dundee is facing a housing emergency. That isn’t a slogan or a campaign line — it’s the lived reality for hundreds of households across the city who are being failed by a system that should protect them. Families are stuck in unsuitable temporary accommodation, children are growing up without stability, and too many people are unable to access their basic housing rights.

Over recent months I’ve been contributing, in a personal capacity through Dundee Civic Trust, to the community‑led Housing Emergency Action Plan developed by Shelter Scotland and more than 30 partner organisations. The plan brings together lived experience, frontline workers, community groups, trade unions, students, and civic bodies to set out clear, practical steps for addressing the crisis.

Although this involvement sits outside my architectural practice, the issues it raises are inseparable from the wellbeing and long‑term resilience of the city. Housing is the foundation of health, opportunity, and dignity. When the housing system begins to break down, the effects are felt across every part of civic life — from education and employment to community cohesion and economic stability.

The scale of the crisis

Despite national figures trending downward on several key measures, Dundee has moved sharply in the opposite direction:

• Homeless applications: 1,618 — a 6% increase (national: –3%)

• Households assessed as homeless: 1,133 — up 8% (national: –2%)

• Households with children or pregnant women in temporary accommodation: 100 — up 5% (national: –2%)

• Unsuitable Accommodation Order breaches: 330 — up 38% (national: –8%)

The UAO figure is particularly striking. Dundee is an outlier against the national trend and the other major cities, all of which saw declines. This points clearly to a crisis in temporary accommodation capacity and suitability.

• Households in temporary accommodation: 464 — up 13% (national: 9%)

These numbers represent real people: families stuck in unsuitable housing, individuals waiting years for a secure home, and children growing up without the stability they deserve.

A community‑led response

The Dundee Housing Emergency Coalition has developed a clear set of actions that can make a meaningful difference:

• Increase the supply and quality of social housing

• Improve the quality of temporary accommodation

• Invest in repairs and maintenance across all tenures

• Restore accessible, face‑to‑face housing support services

• Protect housing rights and end statutory breaches

These are achievable steps — but they require political will, coordinated leadership, and properly resourced public services.

The full Housing Emergency Action Plan is available via the Shelter Scotland Website.

A community‑led plan to end Dundee’s housing emergency published by Shelter Scotland. Clear actions, real solutions, and a call for the city to show leadership. Read the full Housing Emergency Action Plan and add your voice.

Why I’m sharing this

My involvement in this work is through Dundee Civic Trust in a personal capacity, separate from my architectural practice. But the values at the heart of the Housing Emergency Action Plan — dignity, safety, community wellbeing, and the belief that good housing is essential to a thriving city — are the same values that guide the work we do as a business.

Before establishing h|ARCHITECTstudio, much of my professional career was spent delivering high‑quality housing across London and the South East. Working in some of the UK’s most pressured housing markets shaped my understanding of how profoundly good homes affect people’s lives — not only through design quality, but through stability, health, opportunity, and long‑term resilience. That experience is also what motivated me to join Dundee Civic Trust in the first place: to participate in civic dialogue and contribute to improving housing and design standards in the city I now call home.

Those same principles underpin the ethos of the studio. As a practice, we care deeply about the quality and sustainability of the places people live. And from a professional standpoint, it is clear that Dundee cannot address this emergency without delivering new homes at scale — and ensuring those homes are well‑designed, energy‑efficient, and built to last. The city also needs properly funded housing and planning departments capable of enabling, coordinating, and regulating this work. Without investment in the teams responsible for delivering and overseeing development, even the strongest policy commitments will struggle to translate into real‑world outcomes.

Speaking up about Dundee’s housing emergency is not only a civic responsibility; it reflects our commitment to supporting communities, improving the built environment, and advocating for a city where everyone has access to safe, secure, and dignified housing.

It has also been encouraging to see wider civic support grow — including from Brian Cox, a proud Dundonian and Patron of Dundee Civic Trust, who has publicly backed the call for Dundee to declare a housing emergency. His support underscores the seriousness of the situation and the importance of collective action.

How you can help

Shelter Scotland has created a simple supporter action that allows Dundee residents — and anyone who cares about the city — to contact local councillors and call for urgent leadership. Follow the link below to add your voice:

Adding your voice takes only a moment, but collective pressure is powerful. The more people who speak up, the harder it becomes for the issue to be ignored.

Housing is a human right. Dundee deserves a system — and a housing supply — that reflects that.