13% of Scots believe social housing provides best choice for high quality home

The misconception that social housing is lower quality than other tenures is still held among many Scots, a new survey has revealed.

A poll commissioned for Scottish Housing Day shows that, despite having the most stretching standards of any type of housing, only 13% of Scots think that social housing provides the best choice for a high quality home.

This is despite statistics from the Scottish House Condition Survey showing that a higher proportion of homes in the social sector (62%) than the private sector (53%) are meeting the Scottish Housing Quality Standard.

Carried out by YouGov, the poll asked 1,066 Scottish adults a series of questions on issues such as the government’s housing policy priorities, factors relating to their ideal home, and perceptions around choice and affordability in different tenures.

The results show that 76% of Scots believe that homeownership offered the best option for a quality house.

Commenting on the poll, CIH Scotland national director, Callum Chomczuk, said: “Scottish Housing Day is about informing people of their housing options but unfortunately, there remains a misconception about what the reality of this looks like.

“All tenures of housing (owner occupier, private rented sector and social rented sector) have seen remarkable improvements in housing quality in recent years but nowhere has this been more pronounced than in the social rented sector.

“Different types of homes offer a range of options for people at different stages of their lives and it is vital that everyone has a full range of quality housing options available to suit their individual circumstances and that crucially they understand what these are.”

Scottish Housing Day will take place on Wednesday September 19th 2018.

The day is organised by CIH Scotland, the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA), Homes for Scotland, Shelter Scotland, the Association of Local Authority Chief Housing Officers (ALACHO), the Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL), the Tenant Participatory Advisory Service Scotland (TPAS), Regional Network of Registered Tenants Organisations and the Scottish Government.

Its purpose is to raise public awareness of the latest developments in housing and to give people the resources that they need to make informed decisions about their housing options.

You can find out more about Scottish Housing Day here, or follow developments on Twitter @scothousingday by using the hashtag #ScottishHousingDay.

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