Scottish PRS triples in size

In 2015 there were 350,000 households in the private rented sector, 91,000 of which have children. This makes up 14% of overall housing in Scotland, compared with 5% in 1999.

In response, Shelter Scotland said the growth in the private rented sector shows the need to “push forward with reform” of the sector to make it “more modern, stable, flexible and fairer for everyone that calls it home”.

The social rented sector made up 23% of housing, the same proportion as in 2007.

More than four in 10 of local authority social rented properties and more than half of housing association properties were in the 20% most deprived areas of Scotland. Only 39% of tenants in the social rented sector rated their area as a very good place to live, a lower percentage than in other tenures. However, almost three-quarters do not expect to move from their property in the future.

While 39% of tenants living in social rented properties said they would like to be homeowners, the majority – 51% – preferred living in the social rented sector.

The majority of housing association social rented properties are flats – 64% – whereas for local authority properties this is split evenly between flats and houses.

More than three-quarters of social rented tenants live in urban areas in either one or two-bed properties.

Tenants in the social rented sector had lived in their properties longer than those in the private rented sector. In the private rented sector, 43% of tenants had lived in their property for less than a year, whereas social rented sector tenants tended to have lived in their homes between five and 10 years.