Insight

While the finalised version of the National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) has environmental considerations at its heart, Alastair Wood asks whether it will have the ability to deliver on the Scottish Government’s 2045 net zero ambitions and whether planning will still be able to support the

Both residents and businesses are benefiting from Clyde Gateway's recent investments in green spaces, says Ian Manson. For Clyde Gateway, Scotland’s most ambitious regeneration project, there has been an increased focus on creating new green spaces. Aside from the many environmental reasons br

Jimmy Black and Kieran Findlay spent 40 minutes online with Patrick Harvie, minister for zero carbon buildings, active travel and tenants' rights. Jimmy picks out some of the main points, mostly concerning the Scottish Government’s emergency legislation designed to give tenants relief from the

In a guest blog for the CIH Scotland website, Lucy Malarkey talks about the actions needed to create a truly inclusive culture within organisations. Creating and maintaining an inclusive culture doesn’t happen by accident and it doesn’t happen in a vacuum, it requires action and that act

Hamish Trench talks about the recent Scottish Government consultation on the Land Reform Bill and the Scottish Land Commission’s response. Over the last four months, the Scottish Government has been consulting on its proposals for a new Land Reform Bill. This is a key stage towards development

Jimmy Black reflects on Caledonia Housing Association's ‘agile’ staff strategy and gets misty-eyed about his old place of work in a Broughty Ferry mansion house. I came across the term “agile” when working in technology-enabled care. A bunch of expert software developers crea

The new Tenant Protection Act falls short of expectations, argues the Legal Services Agency. In October 2022, the Scottish Parliament passed the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Bill (which has now received royal assent). This bill aims to introduce new measures to protect tenants in th

TECH is launching its Analogue to Digital telephony switch-off awareness campaign with a countdown to the 2025 switch-off. Steph Elliot explains more in the monthly TECH column from the SFHA. In 2025 the current, Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN)

In the second instalment of his Housing Champion interviews, Jimmy Black speaks to housing veteran Tony Cain. You would think Tony Cain would understand how housing works. He’s been head of housing in a council, an inspection manager with Communities Scotland and a policy officer working in go

Let’s start with the basics. We should build houses and plan communities that people can live in. Ok… which people? I’d like to answer “everyone” but that’s not what we do. Is the answer “people who can drive, think clearly and are able to walk and climb st

Having spent the past 40 years working in housing throughout the country including in Edinburgh, Keith Anderson says it is clear that most people cannot plan for or achieve lifelong well-being while faced with uncontrolled rent rises, insecure tenancies, and house price growth which outstrips income

Will Scarlett, founder and director of Scarlett Land and Development, highlights why rent freezes are not helpful for tenants in the long run.  The 6-month temporary rent freeze in Scotland (Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) Scotland Bill) has shocked the property market – particularly,

Craig Fairfoull, head of sales and marketing at independent developer Dundas, reveals why Scotland's first time buyers are struggling to get on the property ladder. The outcry over the scrapping of the top rate of tax and the inevitable U-turn have served as cloud cover for a growing fiscal inj

Letting agent Riccardo Giovanacci argues that private landlords are under assault from a government which has no intention of listening to their concerns. It is a fundamental principle of a functioning democracy that parties, when in power, should pay at least lip service to the concept of balancing

Jimmy Black rounds up a lively discussion on the Scottish Housing News Podcast about tenant participation and how it has evolved since the pandemic. Who gets to have housing fun? Not the staff and not the board members at their very serious conferences. It’s the tenants who have the fun.