You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
A housing sector leader has bemoaned the continued “misconception” around social housing quality after a new poll revealed only 13% of Scots believe it is the best choice for a decent home.
The poll, commissioned by CIH Scotland for Scottish Housing Day, found an equal amount of wariness that private rented housing could offer a “high quality” home.
Of the 1,066 adults in Scotland surveyed, 76% said that homeownership offered the best option for a quality house.
“Scottish Housing Day is about informing people of their housing options but unfortunately, there remains a misconception about what the reality of this looks like,” said CIH Scotland national director Callum Chomczuk.
“All tenures of housing have seen remarkable improvements in housing quality in recent years but nowhere has this been more pronounced than in the social rented sector.”
CIH Scotland flagged latest statistics from the Scottish House Condition Survey showing that a higher proportion of homes in the social sector (62%) than the private sector (53%) are meeting the Scottish Housing Quality Standard.
Tackling the stigma of social housing was one of the five core themes set out in the UK government’s social housing green paper last month. Among the proposals to combat the ‘stigmatisation’ of social housing tenants was a neighbourhood competition to win funding for a street party.
Writing in The Times a year ago, then housing secretary Sajid Javid called for a change in attitude to social housing to prevent another tragedy like Grenfell. He urged the debate around public housing to be “reframed” as social housing had become neglected by politicians.
Scottish Housing Day take places this Wednesday and is organised by CIH Scotland, the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, Homes for Scotland, Shelter Scotland, the Association of Local Authority Chief Housing Officers, the Scottish Association of Landlords, the Tenant Participatory Advisory Service Scotland, Regional Network of Registered Tenants Organisations and the Scottish Government.
Inside Housing will be organising Q&As with senior housing figures as part of the day, with more details to be announced shortly.