One in three Scots are just two pay cheques away from homelessness , a charity has warned.
A study found a third of people have no savings to dip into if they lose their job, fall ill or leave their partner. And it would take one change in their financial situation for them to lose their home or be evicted.
Another survey found one in 10 are struggling to pay their rent or mortgage - about 180,000 people. A further 14 per cent would struggle if their rent or mortgage went up by £25 a month.
More than 36,000 Scots became homeless last year - one household every 17.5 minutes. There are nearly 11,000 families living in temporary accommodation, including more than 14,000 children.
A study by charity beam.org found benefits being stopped and relationship breakdowns were the two most common reasons for people losing their homes. Job loss and mental health were also factors.
Homeless charity Shelter found that homelessness has increased over the past two years, after falling over the previous decade.
Rents have been rising faster than inflation, while wages have stagnated or fallen. Young people can't get on the housing ladder so the demand for rental properties has grown while landlords in tourism hotspots can make more money through platforms such as Airbnb.
These issues are underpinned by a chronic lack of social housing.
Shelter's Lisa Borthwick said: "There has been a huge under investment in affordable housing over the last decade. Waiting lists for council housing are huge, there's a lack of bigger family homes and fewer options for these in private rental sector.
"The recent commitment to build 50,000 affordable homes in this Parliament is largely on track but it will take some time to get on top of the problem.
"We need to make sure this continues to the next Parliament. But it's still not enough to overcome generations of underinvestment."
She added: "Rents in both the private and social sector are rising faster than inflation, so people have fewer options for affordable housing that matches their wages.
"It means people have less money available to save to create a safety net for themselves if something goes wrong. Wage freezes, austerity, job insecurity, zero hours contracts and cuts to social security have all made it so much harder for people to make ends meet and plan for the future."
Borthwick added the benefits system is not an effective safety net. She said: "We still see a lot of people who have been sanctioned. The benefit cap affects larger families with more children. Housing benefit is delivered through local housing allowance and in many areas it doesn't meet the full cost of rent."
Call Shelter's helpline on 0808 800 4444 or go to shelterscotland.org/getadvice
