Opinion

As Scotland continues to grapple with housing supply challenges, much of the conversation has rightly focused on increasing the number of homes being delivered. While that is clearly essential, it is only part of the solution, writes Lynsey Jackson. With sustained pressure on housing supply, there i

Continuing a series of blogs for Scottish Housing News ahead of the analogue to digital switch-off, Sharon Hannah, project manager at the ​Digital Office for Scottish Local Government, discusses the urgent preparations housing providers and telecare teams must make ahead of January 2027 deadl

Robina Qureshi argues that Glasgow's housing emergency stems from decades of policy failure and insufficient supply, not from refugees, and challenges Reform's claim that migrants are being prioritised over local people. In the run up to the Scottish elections, Reform UK is again falsely blaming ref

Small and medium-sized enterprises are often described as the backbone of Scotland’s economy and in housebuilding, that statement rings true, writes Paul Kelly. SMEs like ours build homes but we also sustain local supply chains, create skilled jobs, and invest directly into the communities in

Scotland's housing crisis is being worsened by systemic barriers, including planning costs, land shortages, and slow decision-making, that are preventing the industry from building the homes the country urgently needs, writes Andrew Duncan. Scotland has no shortage of ambition when it comes to housi

If it works, East Kilbride’s masterplan for a new way of town centre living could prove to be a blueprint for declining towns across Scotland, argues Stuart Harrow, director of transportation at Dougall Baillie Associates. Just as East Kilbride transformed Scotland’s civic landscape in 1

After the Scottish Government uprated affordable housing investment benchmark levels with the change to take immediate effect, Craig Sanderson gives his response. I understand that the More Homes Division of the Scottish Government has just introduced revised, 'updated' affordable housing investment

With Awaab's Law set to come into force in October 2026, Andrew McAllister, account manager from PfH Scotland, argues that successful delivery will depend on more than just housing and maintenance staff. Last year, an investigation found that reports of damp and mould in Scottish social homes have r

Rural and island Scots are generating the nation’s clean energy yet paying the highest bills, says Bryan Leask, chair of the Rural and Islands Fuel Poverty Action Group and chief executive of Hjaltland Housing Association.

In the latest CIOB Column for our sister publication Scottish Construction Now, CIOB's Scottish policy and public affairs lead, Dr Jocelyne Fleming, asks whether Scotland’s new housing agency could create pre-packaged development opportunities to unlock new housing delivery at pace and scale.

Minister for public finance Ivan McKee and chief planner Dr Fiona Simpson highlight the progress made by the National Planning Hub in its first year of operation.

Marcus Di Rollo, head of residential lettings at Gilson Gray, explains the introduction of Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax Self-Assessment, and why early preparation for landlords is essential. Landlords across the UK are preparing for one of the most significant changes to personal tax admi

Market sentiment towards Scotland for residential investment, specifically for build to rent, has strengthened after recent rent control exemptions, which Ryden's residential investment & development head of agency, David Fraser, sees as a huge opportunity for Glasgow and Edinburgh.   After

Professor Kenneth Gibb explains how the announcement of a new national housing agency came within the context of the UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence (CaCHE) calling for a new housing agency in its manifesto and the commissioning of a research project by Shelter Scotland. Emergencies Req

Owen Coyle, director at Union Technical, discusses the growing energy security risks facing rural communities that rely on heating oil. As energy prices surge amid ongoing Middle East conflict, the real cost of inaction on rural decarbonisation is becoming impossible to ignore.There is deep and grow