Black's Blog

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If we put digital technology to work, we can perhaps look after our houses and our tenants much better. Jimmy Black reflects on a conversation with Bield about their pioneering work in technology-enabled care. Social housing is waking up to the world of tech. With sensors, we can monitor the humidit

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Do passive houses really need to cost more than "normal" ones? And can they still get damp? Jimmy Black explores some themes after a conversation with Angela Currie and Janice McDonald of Hanover Scotland. Decisions, decisions. Take a popular housing scheme in a settled community in one of the lovel

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Jimmy Black runs his eye over the latest Solace Scotland report, which calls for urgent action to address a “housing emergency”.

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“The best way to encourage tenant participation is to be a terrible landlord”. It sounds like an essay topic for a housing student, but these were the words of David Bookbinder spoken on the Scottish Housing News Podcast. SHN editor Kieran Findlay and I recorded an episode on tenant part

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Following the latest episode of the Scottish Housing News Podcast in which Nick Pollard and Julie McDowell share their environmental, social and governance (ESG) expertise, Jimmy Black ponders what this means for other housing associations and their boards.

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Jimmy Black explores Fit Homes, modular building, the Rural Housing Burden and shifting mid-market rents out of the private sector… all inspired by the latest episode of the Scottish Housing News Podcast.

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Housing has a minister all to itself for the first time in a while. Paul McLennan MSP has been appointed and on the face of things, he’s well qualified for the job. He served 15 years in local government; he sits on the Local Government and Housing Committee; and he’s a member of 24 cro

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Jimmy Black warms to the government’s plans for passive houses. I may have groaned when I heard that all new homes are to be ‘passive houses’, complying with a strict standard covering airtightness and energy use. I thought… here’s another green inspired policy lunge w

1-15 of 64 Articles