Jocelyne Fleming, policy & public affairs lead for Scotland at the CIOB shares refreshed insights from the social housing sector one year on from an original research report. Last year I had the opportunity to work with housing association representatives to identify challenges they face in the

As the Housing (Scotland) Bill continues its passage through the Scottish Parliament, Professor Douglas Robertson's overview of the main findings of the RentBetter research project led by Indigo House and funded by the Nationwide Foundation considers affordability and rent controls. The RentBetter r

One year after the City of Edinburgh Council began implementing Scotland’s short-term let rules, Airbnb says its new analysis shows the licensing scheme has failed to have any impact on the affordable housing crisis in Edinburgh. 

Accountant Stuart Beattie shares what housing associations can do to limit the impact of current challenges and calls for greater government support to help organisations meet their obligations. Earlier this month I attended the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) Finance Conference,

Jimmy Black relives a few housing decades with Laurie Naumann, a campaigner on single homelessness, and a founder of Kingdom Housing Association. This is a story about Laurie Naumann, who recently retired after 44 years as a board member at Kingdom Housing Association. But it’s also a step bac

Jimmy Black cycled to Stornoway to meet Calum (Barney) MacKay, chair of TPAS Scotland and long-standing tenant activist. Barney is a trade unionist, and that explains a lot. Trades unions teach their active members how to do many useful things, including basic skills, like how to run a meeting or th

Jimmy Black meets the energetic Evie Copland, multi-award-winner and housing evangelist. “The biggest problem is … how do I change the world with this?” Evie Copland is finishing her Master's in Housing Studies, and she has been a distinguished student. In 2021 she won the Malcolm

Jimmy Black meets Bill Banks, retiring CEO of the multi award-winning Kingdom Group. Bill Banks looks relaxed, calm and entirely at home in his relatively modest office at Kingdom Housing Association. He’s a man at the height of his powers with a very solid track record of achievement. But Bil

Below is a full transcript of episode 63 of the Scottish Housing News Podcast titled ‘Accessible housing (part 4) with Simon Fitzpatrick'. Listen to the episode here.

“Partnership work is about relationships, it's knowing people, it's understanding each of us have roles and responsibilities but keeping in mind what we're all trying to achieve at the end of the day and that's the outcomes for people that live in our communities to allow them to thrive and su

Below is a full transcript of episode 62 of the Scottish Housing News Podcast titled ‘Accessible housing (part 3) with Jacquie Pepper and Elaine Ritchie’. Listen to the episode here.

“If we don't grab and grab with both hands that prevention agenda, do more now, given we know what's coming our way from our demographics, then we are going to be in a much worse state than we are now in 10, 20 years time.” Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black continue their exploration of the

Jimmy Black hears about some great work happening in Perth & Kinross; then thinks about people excluded from the housing market by high prices and poverty. We’re running out of words. We’ve used “housing emergency” to explain the failure of our housing markets to provide

Jimmy Black hopes Integrated Joint Boards (IJBs) will find inspiration at the Housing & Social Care Accessibility Summit, after a chat with Hanover Scotland's Angela Currie.

Jimmy Black thinks about wheelchairs, accessible houses, cycling on grass and a conversation with Pam Duncan-Glancy MSP.

Jimmy Black reflects on a conversation with Helen Murdoch from the Salvation Army and Janet Haugh from Right There.

In the latest article in the ongoing Our Housing Heritage series, Scottish Housing News discusses the Glasgow Rent Strikes of 1915. In the absence of social housing, families across the UK in 1915 were at the mercy of private landlords who could hike rents and evict tenants at will with little restr

The Springburn office of ng homes is named after Ned Donaldson. But who was Ned Donaldson? Kieran Findlay recalls the contribution of the activist and the post-war battle to stop the privatisation of council housing at Merrylee. It was a cold sleety December day in 1951. Slum landlordism and sublett

Duncan Smith, who works in the social housing sector, has contributed this piece as part of his quest for more information about housing architect George Gibson. Several years ago, just after starting my current job, I undertook some research on the properties we were refurbishing at the time. I fou

Next month marks the centenary of Scotland’s first council housing estate, the Logie Estate in Dundee. Lauren Brown reports.

The energy price cap is set to increase by 1.2% starting in January, energy regulator Ofgem confirmed today.

Winter fuel support for around 1,300 elderly and vulnerable Inverclyde residents is on the way thanks to a new £600,000 council fund. Members of Inverclyde Council’s policy and resources committee this week unanimously approved proposals to provide a one-off £200 payment to eligibl

Kirsty MacLeod, energy advice manager at Tighean Innse Gall (TIG), has been presented with the prestigious Fuel Poverty Hero Award 2024 at the annual Energy Action Scotland Conference. The award is given to someone who has made a significant impact and contribution toward tackling fuel poverty in Sc

The Ofgem Energy Industry Voluntary Redress Scheme has distributed a total of £9.3 million to support 28 organisations across England, Scotland and Wales, deliver projects supporting vulnerable residents with energy bills and carbon reduction initiatives.

Glasgow City Mission is to relaunch its Winter Project on December 2nd, the charity has confirmed. For more than a decade, the Winter Project has minimised the need for people to sleep rough during the worst of Glasgow’s winter weather.

A social enterprise known for transforming the lives of people experiencing homelessness through barista training has launched a new impact programme in Scotland this month.

Shelter Scotland has called on the Scottish Government to prioritise the needs of homeless children in Scotland in its upcoming budget.   The housing and homelessness charity has published a budget briefing urging ministers to restore the Affordable Housing budget to at least £3.5 billion

Residents in North Lanarkshire are continuing to be supported in wide-ranging council efforts to prevent homelessness, despite the number of people declaring themselves homeless has increased by 16% in the last year, a new report has revealed.

Secure Trust Bank (STB) Real Estate Finance has provided Edmond de Rothschild Real Estate Investment Management (REIM) with a £13.7 million loan to regenerate Stead’s Place into a build-to-rent development in Edinburgh. Located near the foot of Leith Walk, Stead’s Place is a collec

As the Housing (Scotland) Bill continues its passage through the Scottish Parliament, Professor Douglas Robertson's overview of the main findings of the RentBetter research project led by Indigo House and funded by the Nationwide Foundation considers affordability and rent controls. The RentBetter r

One year after the City of Edinburgh Council began implementing Scotland’s short-term let rules, Airbnb says its new analysis shows the licensing scheme has failed to have any impact on the affordable housing crisis in Edinburgh. 

Almost all of the planning applications made to the City of Edinburgh Council for properties to operate as short-term lets have been rejected since the introduction of a new system in 2022, according to a freedom of information request lodged by Gilson Gray.

Concerns about the fairness and consistency of grants awarded through the Scottish Welfare Fund (SWF) have been highlighted in a new report from the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO). The report highlights issues with the distribution of the Fund, which provides grants to those in crisis.

Social Security Scotland has published its Annual Report and Accounts, which shows that it made £1.9 billion in payments to people in Scotland from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024. The payments were made across 14 Scottish benefits, seven of which are not available anywhere else in the UK.

Tens of thousands more unpaid carers in Scotland can apply for a new benefit from today. Carer Support Payment, which is a payment of £81.90 per week paid by Social Security Scotland, has been introduced in phases since November 2023.

The Court of Session has granted permission to proceed in the judicial review challenge against decisions to cut to the Winter Fuel Payment.