Article 2 of this Order temporarily modifies the Homeless Persons (Unsuitable Accommodation) (Scotland) Order 2014 in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The modifications expire on 30 June 2021. Similar modifications were made in the Homeless Persons (Unsuitable Accommodation) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2020, which expired on 30 September 2020, and in the Homeless Persons (Unsuitable Accommodation) (Scotland) Amendment (Coronavirus) Order 2020, which expires on 31 January 2021.

The modifications allow for temporary accommodation to be provided for homeless households by way of accommodation within hotels and bed and breakfasts. This would have been a breach of the 2014 Order which only allows for such accommodation to be provided for a seven day period, but the modification allows local authorities to provide such accommodation where the homeless households need to self-isolate or otherwise comply with physical distancing guidelines, which have come into being as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Order also allows for such accommodation to be provided where the local authority is unable to place the household in suitable accommodation as a result of the impacts of coronavirus on accommodation supply in the area, provided that where a household includes a child or a pregnant woman the household is not placed in unsuitable accommodation for more than 7 days.

Article 3 revokes the Homeless Persons (Unsuitable Accommodation) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2020 and the Homeless Persons (Unsuitable Accommodation) (Scotland) Amendment (Coronavirus) Order 2020, both of which contained temporary provisions (which have now expired) and made amendments (which are now spent).