'I thought we would be evicted before Christmas'

A mother and son facing eviction from their homeless flat will be allowed to stay there over Christmas.

Stacey Grieve was handed a court summons in the middle of a BBC interview about housing last month.

Her court case has now been postponed until the Spring and the City of Edinburgh Council said it is supporting her in finding a suitable home.

It comes as the Scottish government slashed funding for affordable housing in its budget by £196m.

Meanwhile, BBC Scotland News understands a planned review of its target of building 110,000 affordable homes has been moved forward by two years.

'Out before Christmas'

Registered homeless for nine years, Stacey, 31, lives at the property with her six-year-old son Archie.

She had been due to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last Friday.

However, the council announced it was pausing the action.

Stacey Grieve and her son Archie

Stacey told BBC Scotland News: "We thought Friday was the day.

"We were going to come out of court, find out what is going to happen, and we're out before Christmas

"I think we now just sit back and wait.

"That's the worrying part because they can just come to your door, put you in that state of fear, that state of worry and then nothing."

'It was a blur'

Stacey first appeared on BBC Scotland News on 2 November - the same day the council declared a "housing emergency" over skyrocketing rents and a shortage of social housing.

During her interview, Stacey became distressed as she received a summons from a housing officer to attend court on 15 December.

City of Edinburgh Council had launched the action to evict her from the property after the private landlord chose to remove it from a leasing scheme for homelessness.

Her tenancy officially ended in September but she remained at the property.

Stacey Grieve received her summons last month during a BBC interview

She said: "It was a blur. It still is.

"I just felt like my whole insides slid, that my whole body was on the floor."

Since the segment aired, the council has offered Stacey four properties - all of which she says are unsuitable due to her medical conditions and the distance from Archie's school.

Her court case is expected to continue in April but council officials are hoping to find her a permanent home before then.

Councillor Jane Meagher, housing convenor, said: "The court process has been put on hold which means we can continue to our discussions with Stacey over identifying an alternative property.

"We've giving her a huge amount of support to find a suitable home and this will continue."

'Empty homes'

Two weeks after the incident, Stacey met with Housing Minister Paul McLennan at the Scottish Parliament.

Speaking to BBC Scotland News on Tuesday, he said: "My officials discussed this with Edinburgh Council and with Shelter, who are advocating for her, to try and see what we could do.

"We are looking at the history in her case."

Stacey (centre) meets with housing minister Paul McLennan

In the last month, Edinburgh and Glasgow councils declared "housing emergencies" to cope with pressure on social housing. Argyll and Bute Council did the same in June.

Mr McLennan said the government was working with councils to find solutions to each crisis.

"Edinburgh has 1,500 empty homes at the moment, so what can we do to work with them?" he said.

"It's about trying to look forward - with other charities and the sector - and look at how we can make these empty homes available again.

"It's not underestimating the challenge at all. It's making sure we are speaking to local authorities and trying to make sure we have solutions that suit them."

Just five hours after he spoke to the BBC, it was announced the budget for supporting new affordable housing was being cut by 26% - dropping from £752m this year to £556m for 2024-25.

'A hammer blow'

The announcement came after it emerged the number of new social homes starting construction fell by 40% in the last year.

Meanwhile, the Scottish government's own data revealed there is a "high risk" understaffing and a lack of capital could lead to it missing its target of 110,000 affordable homes by 2032.

Scotland's Affordable Housing Supply budget was cut by £196m

Shelter Scotland director Alison Watson described the cut as "devastating".

She continued: "If there is money for a council tax freeze then there should be money for homelessness services, if there is money to build bigger roads there should be money to build social homes.

"Instead of rising to the challenge of ending Scotland's housing emergency the Scottish government has chosen to make it worse."

Meanwhile, Jennifer Kennedy, of Homes for Scotland which represents house builders, said: "Coming on the back of last week's statistics showing that the chronic undersupply of housing is intensifying, this not only threatens Scotland's social wellbeing by perpetuating housing inequality but also its economic success and the transition to net zero."

The Scottish Federation of Housing Associations said the budget cut was "an absolute hammer blow for tackling homelessness and poverty."

In a separate statement, Mr McLennan said: "The UK government did not inflation-proof its capital budget which has resulted in a 9.8% real terms cut in our capital funding between 2023-24 and 2027-28.

"This alongside construction supply chain issues and labour shortages driven by Brexit, and high inflation last year means we cannot deliver on all our capital projects within the funding available."

'Never good enough'

As of March this year, 9,595 youngsters were listed as homeless in Scotland - the highest since Scottish government records began in 2002.

In total, there were 29,652 open homelessness cases in March, which was a 15% rise on last year.

Last month, it emerged the trend was reflected in England - with record numbers of children in temporary accommodation.

Stacey is hoping to get out of her temporary flat - her fourth in a decade - and a permanent home early next year.

She continued: "I just feel like what I'm doing is never good enough.

"It's never giving me the answers, it's never getting us in the right direction.

"I just feel that I am not going to get Archie that settlement he needs."