Opinion

HouseMark Scotland has updated its Scottish Social Housing Charter comparison tool to include new data released last week, writes Kirsty Wells. In a recent blog post, Scottish Housing Regulator (SHR) Chief Executive, Michael Cameron, outlined the expectations for landlords getting ready to subm

As the UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence marks its second-anniversary director, Professor Ken Gibb, reflects on what we have achieved so far and highlights some areas we still need to work on.  It’s been two years since the UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence (CaCHE) w

Fraser Mitchell, planning partner at law firm Shoosmiths in Edinburgh, warns that the Scottish Government must act on new legislation or an opportunity might disappear into the sunset. The Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 has arrived following the most recent review of the Scottish planning system. In a

Housing, homelessness and fair work convener, Cllr Kate Campbell, writes about how the City of Edinburgh Council is intervening to help those living in the private rented sector. Housing in Edinburgh is under severe pressure. At the Housing, Homeless and Fair Work committee this Thursday we’re

Shelter Scotland’s Lisa Borthwick on the charity’s new campaign for housing rights in Scotland, including the launch of a public petition to embed the human right to housing fully in Scottish law.

Keeping things simple and focusing on doing a few things well is the way to keep your residents happy, writes Paul Taylor.

The Match Me research project explores the effectiveness of allocations and lettings practice for accessible and adapted social housing in Scotland. Here, Professor Isobel Anderson from the University of Stirling discusses findings from the project’s final report, together with recommendations

CIH Scotland’s policy and practice manager Ashley Campbell, outlines a new framework, developed in partnership with CIH Scotland, Healthcare Improvement Scotland’s ihub and Alzheimer Scotland, which aims to help housing organisations record the work they are already doing to support peop

Caroline Kennedy, a member of the Poverty Truth Community based in Glasgow and former member of the Scottish Poverty and Inequality Commission, reflects on how the new Scottish Child Payment could make a difference to the lives of children in Scotland. When the Scottish ministers did the decent thin

Ahead of this year's Scottish Housing Day on September 18th, CIH Scotland national director Callum Chomczuk explores the possibilities for creating a human rights based approach to housing in Scotland in this new blog. Scottish Housing Day is about celebrating the impact that housing makes to the li

Housing disputes with a tenant is a difficult time for everyone involved, particularly if there is an ongoing relationship between landlord and tenant to consider. Everyone is seeking a fair outcome and a strong process that will enable this to happen, but at the same time it is important that the d

Brodies partner Neil Collar outlines how retirement living is addressed in the Planning (Scotland) Bill, which received Royal Assent last month. Retirement living – meeting the housing needs for older people – is addressed in the plan-making provisions in the Planning (Scotland) Bill.

Rodney Whyte, partner and specialist in residential land development at Pinsent Masons, looks at how Scots law is holding back "later living" developments. There are almost 12 million people aged 65 and above in the UK, and that demographic is forecast to grow by an additional 8.6 million people ove

After a century of flight to the suburbs, urban living has come into vogue for a variety of reasons. Queensberry Properties’ sales and marketing director, Hazel Davies, explores further. For much of the 20th century, living in the heart of a city was unfashionable and even somewhat undesirable

Halliday Fraser Munro design associate Isla Jappy discusses the future challenges for affordable housing in Scotland.