Edinburgh family of six trapped in temporary accommodation for five years say "this isn't home"

Zoe Ross, 43, admitted to Shelter Scotland that as each year goes by she is losing hope of ever having somewhere to truly call home and her children.

Zoe and her children, Kyle, 19, Alexander, 16, Robbie, 14, Maryisa, 11, Daryl, eight, and Ella-Rose, five, were placed in a three-bed temporary flat five years ago, just days before the UK went into lockdown.

Zoe and Maryisa have been in their temporary accommodation in Edinburgh for five years. | Shelter Scotland

Zoe explained she became homeless after falling into rent arrears. They have yet to be offered a suitable permanent home.

Zoe explained: “I’ve been in temporary accommodation for five years this month. We got told we had to move here and there was no other choice. Before that we were in a hotel for a week, with six children. A baby, who just turned one, spent her first birthday in a Travelodge. And all we had was a kettle.”

Zoe’s 11-year-old daughter Maryisa said: “I remember a bit of moving here. It was very fast. I remember there was a rush. When we got taxis to the house from the hotel, we put all of our bags on the side. Then we were like, who’s taking what room? I was in one room with Daryl and Ella.”

This comes as leading housing charity Shelter Scotland have published a report showing the impact unsuitable temporary housing has on children.

Titled ‘In Their Own Words: Children's Experiences of Temporary Accommodation’ research conducted by De Montfort University and University College of London, gives a shocking insight to the true reality of what thousands of children in Scotland are facing. Children told how they had to live in overcrowded condition, with some having to share beds or even sleeping on the floors.

Zoe added: “Now three of my sons are in one room and Maryisa and my youngest Ella-Rose is in the other. For my sons, it can be tough. One of my sons, he comes home from school, gets changed and heads straight back out to his friend’s next door. It can be too chaotic for him.

“My eight-year-old can’t really have his friends over. There isn’t enough space so it’s hard for him too. I don’t really blame him for always being at his friends because it’s just so busy here.”

Other challenges the report exposed was the impact on education as many were moved to homeless accommodation further away from their school.

Zoe said: “It took me about a year and a half to move the little ones to the school here. I was getting taxis every morning to the other school, so I was spending between £60 and £70 every week to get them to school.”

Mum of five Zoe has been left frustrated in her temporary accommodation in Edinburgh. | Shelter Scotland

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According to the latest statistics from the Scottish Government, households are in Edinburgh are spending on average 546 days in, often unsuitable, temporary accommodation in Scotland.

While Zoe is dreaming of getting a new home for her family, the children have grown up in temporary accommodation. For them, it is their normal. Over the years, the kids have made friends in the close-knit community and feel settled in the flat Zoe has laboured over to make it homely for them.

Maryisa said: “I would want to stay here because all my pals are around here.”

Zoe concluded: “As a mum you just want to make a house a home and you want them to have the space they need. I just want them to have a proper home and feel safe. That’s the end goal.

“At any moment something could come up and we could move next week. I’ve spent a lot of money on this place, spent thousands to try and make it homely for them but for me, it isn’t home.”

Shelter Scotland director Alison Watson said: “We, as a nation are failing those children trapped in our broken and biased homelessness system. Every child in Scotland has the right to grow up in a safe, secure and affordable home. Experiencing homelessness as a child should not be traumatic and filled with worry but it seems that for the 10,360 who will wake up tomorrow without a home, their problems feel never ending.

“Temporary accommodation forms an important part of people’s rights. Everyone experiencing homelessness should be given access to temporary housing while they await the outcome of their application. It should act as a safety net and a first step out of crisis, rather than causing a new crisis in itself. What has become clear from our latest report, is that for families, unfortunately, their experience is all too often the latter.

“Temporary housing should be just that – temporary. Not a long-term sentence. However, as we can see from our latest report, we are seeing children growing up in unacceptable conditions with families speaking out about overcrowding, vermin and violence.

“This research shows clearly that it is now more important than ever that all levels of government need to tackle the housing emergency and protect thousands of Scotland’s children from further harm.

“Children have bravely shared their experiences. Their stories don’t just demand to be heard — they demand urgent action. This is our wake-up call.”

A City of Edinburgh Council spokesperson told the Evening News that Ms Ross was offered a new build property at the end of January which she refused, although this was temporary accommodation too.

Adding, that Ms Ross has only bid on 12 properties since January 2024, and since January of this year she has “only placed three bids and one of these was for a home she wasn’t eligible for”.