Opinion

The recent decision of the Inner House in Proven Properties (Scotland) Limited, reported in Scottish Housing News on May 15, raises questions about the effectiveness, or at least the scope, of the Property Factors (Scotland) Act 2011, writes Tom Marshall. Briefly, the case concerned a block of 15 fl

Today, Thursday 21 May, 19 organisations that care about homelessness in Scotland will present a plan to the Scottish Government setting out what they believe needs to be done to end rough sleeping and tackle homelessness in Scotland. Martin Gavin, Homeless Network Scotland’s Head of External

This outbreak has shown how crucial it is to tackle homelessness. As discussions and speculation continue around just how we will move out of lockdown, those experiencing homelessness in Scotland must be at the centre of this thinking.

People require homes, somewhere in which they feel secure and safe. It is not hard to grasp that not all accommodation is suitable to be called ‘home’.   It is not the absence of housing stock so much as the quality of that stock, its location, and environment that is so crucial whe

We tell it like it is as Glasgow Night Shelter; there isn’t enough accommodation for destitute asylum seekers and what there is, isn’t good enough. And we say that because for the past 10 years we have been providing not-really-good-enough accommodation (a mattress on a hall floor, a bun

Briar Homes marketing manager Ainslie McCrone on managing buyer interest as the housebuilding sector awaits the easing of lockdown restrictions. There are certain milestones in life that are set in, well, stone, and serve as evidence of our British-ness – or Scottish-ness for that matter.

CIH Scotland national director Callum Chomczuk and John Blackwood, chief executive of the Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL), argue that further support is required for private landlords, who have a significant role to play in the housing sector’s response to coronavirus. Last month the S

In a guest blog for CIH Scotland, Grampian Housing Association chief executive Neil Clapperton shares what his organisation has been doing to support the current national emergency. Now is the time for associations (and council housing departments) to show what they can really do at a time of nation

Martin Gavin, Homeless Network Scotland’s head of external relations, looks at how to frame discussions about what happens next, so that the best ideas surface quickly. Since the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Group (HARSAG) recommendations were submitted in 2018, centred around rapid

The Springburn office of ng homes is named after Ned Donaldson. But who was Ned Donaldson? Kieran Findlay recalls the contribution of the activist and the post-war battle to stop the privatisation of council housing at Merrylee. It was a cold sleety December day in 1951. Slum landlordism and sublett

Colleen Rowan, policy and research lead at the Glasgow and West of Scotland Forum of Housing Associations (GWSF), discusses the Supporting Communities Fund and why its recognition of community anchors is so important. Along with colleagues in housing and other sectors, GWSF was delighted to see the

A fall in the number of planning applications combined with the postponement of the expected fee increase in June may result in longer-term effects on the planning system, writes Heads of Planning Scotland.

Today would have been the annual Housing First Scotland conference in Edinburgh, an event that last year attracted 350 delegates and speakers from across the world. The theme was going to be a celebration of the first full year of the Housing First Pathfinder, and today Homeless Network Scotland, wh

Duncan Smith, who works in the social housing sector, has contributed this piece as part of his quest for more information about housing architect George Gibson. Several years ago, just after starting my current job, I undertook some research on the properties we were refurbishing at the time. I fou

Andrew Fyfe argues that retirement villages are set up in such a way that helps to insulate and protect in the case of a pandemic. According to figures published by the National Records of Scotland 338 of the 656 deaths recorded between 20 and 26 April were in care homes. Care homes are current