Image source, Getty Images

Ms Ballantyne highlights one of the biggest issues of getting into the private rented sector is the level of initial outlay for deposits.

She seeks views on the experiences of people accessing help to cover depositions.

Gary Neil highlights the Rock Trust operates a deposit scheme using a paper bond which many landlords will work with.

Many young people are having to save for longer than 12 months simply to build up enough cash for the deposit he explains.

Convener Bob Doris suggests what is required is a reorganisation of the system, given the landlords do not actually receive deposits directly.

He then ends the session.

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Tory MSP Michelle Ballantyne asks if more supportive housing should be provided to those at risk from drug or alcohol problems.

Ms Ballantyne explains people often take advantage of these people and asks whether there should be more wraparound support packages.

Gary Neil says there will always be a place for supported tenancies and outreach support.

I absolutely agree there is real need for supported accommodation, but there are also many homeless people who could sustain a tenancy without support, the Rock Trust representative says.

Mr Gowans says if someone has nowhere to move onto that is affordable then that is not a good outcome, and this should be addressed by social security support.

Local Housing Allowance should be restored back to market levels, he says.

The Citizens Advice Scotland representative highlights a study of 570 Edinburgh lets found only four would be affordable with housing allowance.

Work should be done with landlords and mortgage lenders to improve how housing benefits work he adds.

It might be appropriate to go down a legislative route to prevent discrimination against people in receipt of housing benefits, Mr Gowans tells the committee.

Tory MSP Jeremy Balfour asks about ways the social security system could help with wraparound support, not just rent payments.

John Rafferty explains Bethany Christian Trust's wraparound services are provided by contracts from local authorities.

But services are being blocked because people are staying in temporary and unsuitable accommodation more than they should be because of a lack of long-term options, he adds.

Gary Neil concurs with this, highlighting one case of a young man staying in a B&B for three years - though he accepts this length is unusual.

£68 per week will not get anywhere close to paying for even a shared room in Edinburgh, he adds.

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John Rafferty points out local authorities are closing down advice shops and people are no longer able to maximise their incomes.

The Bethany Christian Trust rep says there is a limited availability of advice now and Edinburgh City Council has a waiting list to get assistance.

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The benefit cap is a limit on the total amount of benefit you can get.

It applies to most people aged 16 or over who have not reached State Pension age, external.

It began in 2016 amid fears for single parents.

The GMB union described the lower cap as "a monstrous new assault on 40,000 single mothers, which risks shattering the life chances of children up and down our country".

The government says the cap is "a clear incentive to move into a job".

Green MSP Alison Johnstone says people facing the benefit cap may be entitled to an exemption, but might not be aware of that.

Rob Gowans from Citizens Advice Scotland agrees a system of assistance to help people to apply for benefits and exemptions would be helpful.

He highlights the people most impacted by the cap are lone parents with 3+ children, who are unable to look for work, for example.

We want to see the benefit cap review because it effects a lot of people who probably shouldn't be effected by it.

John Rafferty says Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) kicks in when a person is sanctioned by the DWP.

Mr Neil points out that if you are not on any benefits you can't access DHP.

Rob Gowans adds that on the whole DHP works well.

The CAS representative says: "We would welcome a review of the guidance."

Gary Neil from the Rock Trust says the number of young people approaching them to get information on where to find free services has "certainly increased" since the introduction of Universal Credit.

SNP MSP Alasdair Allan asks about levels of awareness of advances.

Mr Rafferty says there is an awareness but people are often choosing to take the "five week hit" instead of taking a whole year of reduced benefits.

Mr Neil says getting a money advance is often not the best thing for some people, since the advances have to be repaid from benefits that are already only at breadline level.

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John Rafferty of the Bethany Christian Trust says we deliver Housing First in Edinburgh and are dealing with extreme chaotic lives.

The Local Government and Communities Committee found that more should be done to find permanent accommodation for the homeless, by adopting the "Housing First" scheme, similar to a strategy used successfully in Finland.

Read more about Housing First here.

Mr Rafferty adds they have to choose between paying rent or their drug dealer, who might break their arm if they don't pay.

"It's costly to their health at the moment."

Rob Gowans from Citizens Advice Scotland explains while consumer debt on the whole has decreased, rent arrears have been on the rise.

It seems to correlate with the welfare reform and the introduction of Universal Credit, he says.

John Rafferty of the Bethany Christian Trust agrees there has been an increase in rent arrears because people are having to make tough choices about what they spend their money on - rent, heating or food.

Rock Trust's Gary Neil explains his organisation has not encountered issues with rent arrears but he highlights the case of one young man who struggled to get help to pay off historical arrears.

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MSPs are hearing from:

• John Rafferty from Bethany Christian Trust, external
• Gary Neil from Rock Trust, external
• Rob Gowans from Citizens Advice Scotland, external

Single men with children often struggle to get accommodation which spare rooms which would allow their children to stay, explains Aoife Deery from Shelter Scotland.

Labour MSP Pauline McNeill says this this can often influence decisions on access to children by courts.

Convener Bob Doris wraps up this session and suspends the session to allow a changeover of witnesses.

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Mr Balfour says he understands that if a person goes in to make a UC claim they will not have to wait five weeks for cash as they can get a loan.

Absolutely, replies Eilidh McIvor from Living Rent, but not everyone avails themselves of that opportunity.

Mr Balfour says that means no-one need go into rent arrears.

As a technical system it seems to have been designed to easily puts someone into rent arrears, Ms McIvor ripostes.

Mr Balfour insists that it is down to the choice of the individual, to which Mr Dailly points out the choice is ephemeral.

Tory MSP Jeremy Balfour asks when talking about arrears, how much is historical and how much is new.

Mr Dailly says historical arrears in the private rented sector are "much more short lived" than in the social sector, when landlords tend to be more sympathetic.

Social sector landlords will allow, for example, a weekly payment of £3 to pay off arrears he says.

But he accepts that in the private rented sector, landlords often cannot go without payment because they have a mortgage to pay.