Opinion

What have we learned from the recently published minutes of the 2 April final session of the Ministerial Working Group (MWG) on Building and Fire Safety arising from the Grenfell Inquiry Phase 2, writes Hans Mitchell. The 26 participants reinforced Scotland’s acceptance of the Grenfell Inquiry

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.

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,

Outlining frustrations with the planning system in Scotland, Liz Hamilton from AS Homes and Briar Homes calls for an ambitious national housing target that filters down into local delivery frameworks and for the next local development plans to allocate enough deliverable land. One year ago, Scotland

Julie-Ann Cloherty, Share’s learning and development officer, outlines the importance of understanding neurodiversity.

Laura Sefton, an energy specialist lawyer from CMS, highlights the challenges facing the housing sector over the decarbonisation of heat from buildings, explains why we’re seeing an evolving regulatory environment and examines the legal and regulatory implications of these changes. Scotland&rs

As Scotland and the wider UK accelerate towards net zero, there’s a clear focus on heating innovation and energy efficiency. But Hanover Scotland’s CEO, Angela Currie, argues that many solutions – particularly the rollout of heat pumps – have not been designed with the needs

Craig Sanderson argues that the looming disruption caused by the switch from Radio Tele-Switch (RTS) meters could, have should, have been avoided. On 12th May, we were alerted to the latest report by Duncan McLennan for the David Hume Institute - 'Urgent disruption’ in housing policy required

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

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

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