The subject for the exploration was selected after it topped a recent reader poll and follows The Ferret’s last crowdfunded investigation into fracking and unconventional energy.

Some of the themes to be examined are:

New building and affordable homes

The Scottish Government has announced it will be investing £3 billion to deliver 50,000 affordable homes by 2021 and will work with local authorities to build record numbers of council houses. Housing association and local authority new build completions have been on the downturn, whilst private-led completions have been on the upturn and we want to know what determines an affordable home, and to whom? Who are getting the big contracts and are they delivering value for money? What is informing major planning decisions?

Waiting lists

There are 142,500 people on local authority housing waiting lists across Scotland but this figure is likely to be an underestimate of the true level of need, and doesn’t include households on lists for housing association homes (which, for example, is all the social housing in Glasgow) - which is perhaps why homelessness is becoming more visible on our streets.

Homelessness statistics

The number of homeless applications has been going down, however we want to know if this reflects the real picture. Is this due to a preventative approach adopted by local authorities in the form of housing options, rather than a change in the underlying drivers of homelessness? Or is it a result of how homelessness is measured and reported? Who is on the street, and why? And are homeless people being turned away from the help they should be getting?

Temporary accommodation

Figures from the Scottish Government show that by September 2016, there were 5,751 children living in temporary accommodation across Scotland, an increase of 826 from the same date in 2015. Families with children make up 30% of the 10,570 households in temporary accommodation. What are the implications for children of living like this?

The new borders

Landlords are expected to act effectively as immigration enforcement now, under the new Immigration Act - and what is the role now of homeless charities, health workers and education professionals when they are dealing with people with complex immigration statuses.

Monopoly Scotland

Who owns Scotland’s properties - are more and more houses being snapped up by overseas investors and lying empty? Who is buying large numbers of properties and why? Are councils losing out on taxes from these properties and are arrears being chased?

The Ferret has organised two public meetings as it begins planning the investigation to which everyone, from individuals to housing organisations, is welcome to attend and discuss what they think should be looked into.

On Monday June 5 they will meet upstairs in Akva in Edinburgh and on Wednesday at Saramago at the CCA in Glasgow. Both meetings will begin at 6pm.

To contribute to the crowdfunding for the investigation click here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETw1t10WvAU