Collette Miller explores the Passivhaus and EnerPHit energy efficiency standards, outlining their development, core principles, and the benefits and challenges associated with their adoption by social housing providers aiming to meet net zero targets and improve tenant well-being. In the 1980s, the

Retrofitting tenements was the subject of the latest SHN podcast with guests from Changeworks, Loco Home and Under One Roof. Jimmy Black yearns for heat networks, not heat pumps... “With tenements, it’s every single problem around net zero and climate change all rolled into one building.

Professors Kim McKee & Vikki McCall from the University of Stirling offer their critique of the popular 'build baby build' solution to Scotland's housing emergency and argue that the type, quality and location of the homes we build should also be considered.

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

In this episode of the Scottish Housing News Podcast, Professor Duncan McLennan discusses the complexities of the Scottish housing system, addressing the notion of a housing emergency, the implications of the right to buy policy, and the urgent need for increased social housing. Speaking with hosts

Below is a full transcript of episode 69 of the Scottish Housing News Podcast titled ‘A conversation with Professor Duncan Maclennan’. Listen to the episode here.

In this episode of the Scottish Housing News Podcast, the discussion revolves around the proposed amendments to the Housing Scotland Bill, particularly focusing on homelessness prevention. The conversation features insights from Susie Fitton, policy manager at the Scottish Federation of Housing Asso

Below is a full transcript of episode 68 of the Scottish Housing News Podcast titled ‘Amendments to the Housing Bill with Susie Fitton, John Mills and Maeve McGoldrick’. Listen to the episode here. Chapters

Jimmy Black asks Duncan Maclennan about the Right to Buy for housing associations.

Jimmy Black wonders about the current Housing Bill.

Jimmy Black reflects on the Heat in Buildings Bill, and laments the loss of Patrick Harvie’s radical edge.

Jimmy Black gets some sage advice from Martin Wilkie-McFarlane, and hears how regulation was ultimately a positive experience for Wellhouse Housing Association.

For the next edition of Our Housing Heritage, journalist and digital history specialist Chris Holme shares the story of how First World War servicemen came to reside in the rural village of Longniddry. Unlikely as it sounds, the Longniddry Piggery provided Britain’s first purpose-built homes f

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

British households will see a modest drop in energy costs this summer after Ofgem announced a 7% cut to the energy price cap, reducing average annual bills by £129 to £1,720. While this decline, driven primarily by falling wholesale gas prices, is a welcome reprieve for consumers, it has

A growing number of households in Scotland are struggling with energy debt, according to new research published by Consumer Scotland.

The Ofgem Energy Industry Voluntary Redress Scheme opened its twelfth funding round for applications this week.

Perth and Kinross Council has extended its funding to the energy charity SCARF for the financial year 2025/26. In addition to the ongoing free home energy advice service available to all homes, a new initiative aims to target properties with poor energy performance to combat fuel poverty and reduce

Fife Council is making progress on reducing the use of private accommodation as temporary housing, councillors heard yesterday. The local authority declared a Housing Emergency on 21st March last year.

The Marie Trust, a leading Glasgow charity for people who are homeless, has scooped one of this year’s GSK IMPACT Awards, a much sought-after accolade for health care charities in the UK.

The proportion of households facing homelessness with physical ill health and disability needs in England has increased markedly over the past five years, new analysis has revealed. Studying the UK Government’s most recent statutory homelessness figures, Crisis has found that 62,040 households

After GWSF’s David Bookbinder pondered the wider implications of the City of Edinburgh Council’s decision to suspend housing list lets in favour of homelessness allocations, Homeless Network Scotland has issued a response. Three weeks ago, Edinburgh Council took the decision to susp

Off-market property investment specialist Duncan Ure says the exemption in Scotland’s Second Home Surcharge is attracting professional investors and building a healthier property portfolio market. The continual incremental increases in the Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS) in Scotland,

Scotland's largest lettings and estate agency has warned the UK government against imposing higher taxes on landlords, which it says would worsen the housing crisis. DJ Alexander Ltd says increasing taxes on rental income would result in reduced investment in the sector, the prospect of a fall in th

The renewal period for secondary short-term let licences in Edinburgh is being extended from one to three years.

The Scottish Government’s announcement of a consultation on rent cap exemptions highlights just how confused their current policy is, according to property firm DJ Alexander Ltd. The lettings and estate agency said that the idea that the consultation on exempting certain properties would clari

The number of applications for Discretionary Housing Payments has risen to 129,860 from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025, a 4.5% increase from the previous year, according to new figures from the Scottish Government.

Households in the Inverness Area have benefited significantly from Welfare Advice received by Highland Council officers when applying for the Inverness Winter Payment Scheme. Leader of Inverness and Area, Councillor Ian Brown, explained: “Councillors have agreed to continue the Inverness Commo

Hillcrest has helped tenants unlock a remarkable £502,740 in financial gains through a targeted campaign to increase the take-up of Pension Credit, support many tenants were unaware they were entitled to. The campaign was delivered by Hillcrest’s Financial Wellbeing Team (FWT) and Hillcr

Last winter over half a million children and families across Scotland enjoyed warmer homes after receiving a total of £37.3 million towards their heating bills from Social Security Scotland. Winter Heating Payment is paid automatically to people who get certain low-income benefits, including h