Conditions are set to improve for homeless people in an East Ayrshire hostel after it gets a £650,000 refurbishment.
St Andrews Court Hostel in Kilmarnock will undergo an upgrade so the couples and single people living there can have their own toilets.
The hostel, run by East Ayrshire Council, has 20 rooms but residents have been forced to share a toilet, kitchen and other living areas.
People had to move out of the building during the pandemic to contain the spread of Covid as the homeless are at higher risk.
They were relocated to temporary furnished accommodation in March.
The hostel provides immediate shelter to people at crisis point and makes an income from rent of about £374,000 annually.
Councillors approved the £650,000 spend on upgrading the building at a cabinet meeting last month.
The local authority must carry out the building changes to meet new Scottish Government rules on improving the quality of accommodation available for homeless people.
The Unsuitable Accommodation Order legislation will come into effect in June for all homeless people. It previously only applied to pregnant women or families with children.
Between April 1, 2019 and March 31, 2020, East Ayrshire Council received 865 homeless applications.
Most people – 27 per cent – had nowhere to live because of a relationship breakdown or dispute.
The second-top reason for being without a home was due to release from hospital, prison or a care institution. A total of 12 per cent had to flee their property because of abuse or violence.
The average stay in St Andrews Hostel was 40 days during the year 2019 to 2020.
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