After a decade of challenging misperceptions around the quality, safety, and potential of Scottish timber, BE-ST has launched the Mass Timber Centre of Excellence - a milestone in the journey to making UK-grown mass timber a mainstream, high-value construction solution. Sam Hart, associate dire

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

Marking today’s anniversary of the declaration of a housing emergency in Scotland, the Everyone Home collective has criticised failures over the last year and is calling on all political parties to commit to concrete action with one year to go until the Holyrood election. Today, we stand at a

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 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

The Scottish Housing News Podcast returns with Gillian Campbell, director of the Existing Homes Alliance, and CIH Scotland's policy and practice manager, Ashley Campbell, joining Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black to discuss the Scottish Government's newly revised Heat in Buildings Bill. They explore th

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.

Jimmy Black digs into the Scottish Land Commission’s new report, Community Land Scotland’s “Right to Live” and living on Solid Ground.

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

A pioneering energy support programme has delivered substantial savings for social housing tenants across the Highlands, helping them cut energy costs and ease financial pressures. Since its launch in May 2023, the Affordable Warmth Highland scheme, led by Albyn Housing Society in partnership with C

The Scottish Government's efforts and progress in addressing fuel poverty over the past three years have been outlined in a new report.

Almost half of Scots are worried about being able to afford their household energy bills over the coming year, according to a poll published ahead of the latest Ofgem price cap rise. The Survation poll, conducted for Advice Direct Scotland, found that 46% of people are concerned about their ability

The Scottish Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel has issued a new evidence report reflecting on what the impending increase to the energy price cap means for rural communities and findings from its recent investigation into rural and remote fuel poverty.  

Marking today’s anniversary of the declaration of a housing emergency in Scotland, the Everyone Home collective has criticised failures over the last year and is calling on all political parties to commit to concrete action with one year to go until the Holyrood election. Today, we stand at a

GWSF’s David Bookbinder ponders the wider implications of the City of Edinburgh Council’s decision to suspend housing list lets in favour of homelessness allocations. It’s no surprise that the very word ‘emergency’ may drive courses of action that would previously have

A partnership programme to help prevent people from becoming homeless has been launched by the social justice secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville.  The £1 million Upstream Homelessness Prevention Fund will bring together Registered Social Landlords (RSLs), third sector organisations, commun

Right There, a charity dedicated to preventing homelessness, has launched an initiative that will allow people to donate and buy pre-loved furniture, whilst also supporting families and individuals in creating a place to call home. Furnish Forward will help the charity furnish over 500 homes it prov

A consultation has been published on the potential for certain exemptions from rent controls or increases above the rent cap.

As rent increases ripple across Scotland, Rettie's Rob Trotter argues that landlords are acting now to avoid being locked into long-term losses later. Rent increases are appearing across Scotland—but this isn’t just a short-term reaction to the lifting of rent controls on April 1st.

The Scottish Government needs to encourage and work more with the private rented sector (PRS) to resolve the current housing emergency, according to property firm DJ Alexander. DJ Alexander Ltd, which is the largest lettings and estate agency in Scotland, said that if there is to be an effective res

Karen Gatherum, solicitor and licencing specialist at Gilson Gray, and Neil Gray, director at Gray Planning and Development, reveal what short-term lets operators in Edinburgh can do to try and maximise the chances of their licences being renewed. Four months before the start of the Edinburgh Fringe

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

East Renfrewshire Council's money advice and rights team (MART) offer free, expert and confidential money advice to residents and, across 2024/25, helped clients maximise their income through benefit assessments and claims, appealing benefit decisions and debt management. 

Manor Estates Housing Association and Muirhouse Housing Association have appointed CHAI to provide their welfare rights service.   The service is being provided by Elvira Vila, a highly experienced welfare rights advisor with many years’ experience providing welfare benefits and welfare r

Pension Age Disability Payment is now open for applications across Scotland. Yesterday, the benefit was extended to 14 more areas - Dumfries and Galloway, East Dunbartonshire, East Lothian, East Renfrewshire, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverclyde, Midlothian, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, Scottish Borde