Opinion

Neil Casey at Shepherd and Wedderburn guides landlords through the emergency changes to housing legislation in Scotland. The Scottish Government has passed the Coronavirus (Scotland) Bill, which will now become law. These emergency provisions are due to expire on 30 September 2020, although minister

Ailsa Thomson breaks down the Scottish Government's policy to empower communities and ensure people benefit more fairly from Scotland's land. As part of the Scottish Government's policy to empower communities and ensure people benefit more fairly from Scotland's land, on 26 April 2020 the right to b

In his second blog as Scottish Housing News’ temporary special correspondent on homelessness, Homeless Network Scotland’s head of external relations Martin Gavin gives his take on the Emergency Coronavirus (Scotland) Bill. Homelessness is unlikely to be one of the enduring memories of th

CIH Scotland national director Callum Chomczuk makes the case for parliament and the housing sector to do more to safeguard women and children experiencing domestic abuse during the current lockdown. As the country enters its second week of the lockdown, a measure intended to protect us all, it is c

In the first of a series of outputs exploring the key issues raised by the coronavirus pandemic, Prof David Robinson considers whether the social and economic constraints imposed by the ‘lockdown’ might make us all feel a little more empathy for those older people (and other fellow citiz

As Crisis officially launches an emergency grants fund for local homelessness charities today, the charity’s head of best practice Chris Hancock explains more.

Harper Macleod solicitor Kevin Sturgeon provides an update for RSLs on the latest requirements from the Scottish Housing Regulator. The Scottish Housing Regulator (SHR) has written to all Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) in the wake of COVID-19 to assist RSLs on assessing their business continuity

Jessica Husbands from Shelter Scotland discusses the issue of homelessness in the UK during the current COVID-19 lockdown.

Glasgow and West of Scotland Forum of Housing Associations (GWSF) director David Bookbinder argues that the conversation should be moved away from rent holidays and focussed instead on the loss of income members facing housing associations and co-operatives. Firstly let’s put the ridiculous id

Kelly Fraser provides advice for Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) wondering how to deal with governance issues, including the requirements to convene meetings, during the current coronavirus pandemic. There are various potential options in the prevailing circumstances - including virtual meetings,

Given the current working conditions at housing associations across Scotland, Penny Norton reveals how online consultation can replace meetings usually carried out in person. This time two weeks ago a housing association might have been running or contributing to a consultation event for a proposed

Homeless Network Scotland is partnering with Scottish Housing News to collect and share the experiences and challenges faced by its members, the wider homelessness sector and people confronted directly with homelessness during the COVID-19 crisis. In response to the emergency, Homeless Network Scotl

Craig Edward offers an alternative view to Grant Ager’s call for Scotland’s social landlords to consider a three-month rent holiday. I have to say I disagree with Grant. Tenants have varying circumstances and different methods of payment of rent. It is far too simplistic to suggest that

All organisations across the world are facing challenges as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and Kelly Fraser says many Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) will be concerned about what this means for their day-to-day operations. While data protection is often a term that we want to avo

Well-known housing figure Grant Ager argues that Scotland’s social landlords should consider a three-month rent holiday. These are unprecedented times and as such need unprecedented actions.