Law change will give social landlords greater control to transfer tenancies from abusers to victims
Regulations have been laid in Parliament that will make it easier for victims of domestic abuse to remain safely in their homes with the tenancy in their name.
For the first time social landlords, rather than the victims themselves, will be allowed to take legal action to end an abuser’s tenancy.
Subject to Parliament’s approval the regulations will bring Part 2 of the Domestic Abuse (Protection) (Scotland) Act 2021 into force.
This will mean that from 1 August 2026, where conditions set out in the new law are met, social landlords will be able to apply for a court order to enable them to transfer a tenancy from an abusive tenant to their victim.
Housing Secretary Màiri McAllan said: “Domestic abuse must be eradicated from our society and as Housing Secretary I am determined to protect the housing rights of women and children.
“No one should have to choose between their safety and their home. These new regulations will give social landlords new powers to protect victims of domestic abuse and hold perpetrators to account.
“By allowing social landlords to take action on behalf of victims, we are removing a significant barrier that has forced too many people to flee their homes to escape abuse. Now, the perpetrator can be made to leave – not leaving this to the victim or survivor.
“This is an important step in our commitment to tackling domestic abuse and to supporting those affected by it to rebuild their lives.”
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Scottish Women’s Aid CEO Dr Marsha Scott said: “We welcome the change in the law, which we have been campaigning for.
“Housing is one of the main challenges women face when ending a relationship with an abusive partner and keeping a roof over the heads of their family and avoiding homelessness are critical pressures.
Not all can stay in their own homes safely, which is why refuge provision is so important, but for the many who could, this regulatory change will bring much-needed reform.
“This change should enable women and their children to stay in their home, their schools and the area where they often have a support network and moves the consequences of abuse where they belong – the abuser.”
Award-winning five-star housebuilder Cruden has submitted a planning application for a new residential development at Kirkton North, Livingston.
The site is currently allocated for residential development in the West Lothian local development plan and will deliver much-needed multi tenure family homes for West Lothian.
Located to the west of Livingston and just three miles from the town centre, the proposed development will provide 67 high-quality homes, including detached, semi-detached, terraced homes and cottage flats, offering accommodation from two- to five-bedroom homes.
In line with local policy, 25% of the homes will be delivered as affordable housing, supporting a balanced and inclusive community to meet a wide range of local housing needs.
Designed by EMA Architects to integrate sensitively with its surroundings, the scheme places a strong emphasis on design quality, placemaking and landscape.
The 8 acre site features retained woodland and a new neighbourhood play area, alongside enhanced pedestrian connections linking the site to nearby bus stops, paths and local amenities.
The new development also boasts excellent transport links and access to good schools and a wide range of facilities, including parks, supermarkets, a medical centre and a pharmacy.
The plans have been shaped through extensive engagement with West Lothian Council and the local community, with feedback from pre-application consultation events directly influencing the final layout, housing mix and open space provision. The development will also deliver energy-efficient homes designed to meet modern building standards, helping to support more sustainable living.
Paul Doran, Development Director at Cruden, said: “From the outset, our approach has been to create a carefully designed development that respects and enhances its surroundings, strengthens the local sense of place, and thoughtfully integrates new homes with green spaces and the existing community.
“Our proposals provide much-needed, high-quality housing for Livingston, building on our recent track record of delivering homes across a range of tenures in West Lothian. Beyond housing, the development will contribute to the vibrancy of the area, promote sustainable living, and generate long-term social and economic benefits for the wider community.”
Pending detailed planning consent, Cruden expects to start work on site in 2026.
Hundreds of thousands of people will benefit from an expansion of a trial to tackle poor housing and protect taxpayers’ cash from rogue landlords in England
Around 400,000 households receiving housing support to be better protected from rogue landlords thanks to an expanded crackdown scheme.
After a successful trial, 41 local authorities across England will now be empowered to better protect their local communities against non-compliance.
Comes as local authorities will be able to recover up to 24 months of rent from landlords who flout the rules – double the previous limit thanks to the Renters’ Right Act.
The scheme – successfully trialled in three council areas – protects public money by stopping it being wasted on unsafe housing through Rent Repayment Orders.
These legal orders clamp down on landlords who operate properties without the required licence, ignore improvement notices, or leave their houses in mouldy, dire conditions, and will now be expanded to a further 38 local authorities in England – helping to drive up living standards across the country. The scheme gives councils streamlined access to Universal Credit data which is crucial for completing Rent Repayment Order applications.
One of the trial areas – Camden, North London – is using the data sharing to recover nearly £100,000 in housing support and make a fraud referral, taking taxpayer cash out of the pockets of rogue landlords and back into the public purse.
Following successful results, the scheme – led by the Department for Work and Pensions and supported by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government – is now being expanded. This includes areas such as Enfield, where nearly 30,000 households receiving housing support are set to be better protected for the future.
This comes alongside expanded provisions under the Renters’ Rights Act allowing local authorities to seek Rent Repayment Orders for up to 24 months of rent – double the previous 12-month limit.
We are clamping down on rogue landlords who flout the rules
The Rent Repayment Orders scheme is being expanded, to benefit private renters in even more communities
Minister for Social Security and Disability Sir Stephen Timms said: Thanks to this pilot, private renters in receipt of housing support will have stronger protections against landlords who fail to meet public standards.
!No one should live in unsafe or unsuitable housing. We are giving local authorities the tools they need to deter bad housing practice, and ensuring better value for money by upholding safe standards.”
Councillor Richard Olszewksi, Leader of Camden Council, said: “Everyone deserves a safe place to call home. With more than a third of households in Camden privately renting, it’s vital that we ensure landlords are meeting important safety and management standards for residents.
“This pilot helps us take further action against rogue landlords and regain the public money they wrongly pocketed. We’re investing this into more enforcement action and improving private sector housing conditions for everyone across the borough.”
Living in a decent, safe home is fundamental to health and work, and vulnerable renters who live in unsuitable accommodation are limited in their ability to take on work.
Enforcing better standards will drive up living standards through incentivising better practice in the future, as well as protecting taxpayer cash.
Justice for Tenants said: “This pilot has shown that we can deter criminality in the private rented sector and help fund housing enforcement services by making those who break the law shoulder more of the cost.
“This pilot is a massive win for all law-abiding landlords, tenants receiving public funds, the NHS, and every taxpayer in the country.”
The convenor of Edinburgh Tenants Federation (ETF), a local housing charity, has been awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the organisation at their latest AGM.
The recipient of the award, Betty Stone (formerly Betty Stevenson) became convenor of the charity in 2005 and has been a volunteer and activist for the organisation for over 30 years.
Edinburgh Tenants Federation is a tenant-led charity that supports tenants across Edinburgh to understand their housing rights, have their voices heard, and influence decisions about housing and related services locally, city-wide, and nationally.
In a letter acknowledging the award, Leader of the City of Edinburgh Council Jane Meagher said: “I have known Betty for a very long time, and I have never met anyone who has shown such care, commitment and dedication to her work.
“She has long fought for better housing conditions for people in Edinburgh and tenants across the city have known no stauncher champion of their rights than Betty. This award is most well deserved and I’m sure will be welcomed by the many, many people that Betty has helped over the years.”
Betty was presented the award by Vice-Convenor Paul Vaughan at the organisation’s AGM.
The evening saw Betty renominated to the organisation’s Executive Committee as Convenor for a further term of three years.
Following receipt of the award, Betty said: “I am honoured to receive this Lifetime Achievement Award from Edinburgh Tenants Federation, especially this year as we celebrate our 35th anniversary.
“I have worked as volunteer campaigning for better housing services in Edinburgh for the past 30 years. I have witnessed a lot of change in the housing landscape, yet, reflecting on my journey, I can see similarities between now and the 90s, and how in many cases we are still working to ensure social housing in Edinburgh is safe and accessible.”
Betty encouraged people to get involved in the local community and join the Federation, saying: “It’s the collective voice of the people that gets the job done. Those interested in setting up a residents’ and tenants’ group, or even just learning more about housing in Edinburgh should reach out to become a part of our network.”
Founded in 1990 from a merger of tenant networks to collaborate over similar housing issues, ETF has been at the forefront of the housing debate in Edinburgh campaigning for better tenants’ rights in areas such as stock transfer, rent increases and tenant living conditions.
Today, its volunteers work closely with the City of Edinburgh Council to help inform tenant participation strategy across the city.
Join the Federation – it’s free!
Joining Edinburgh Tenants Federation is simple. Membership is completely free of charge and open to any tenants’ or residents’ organisations in Edinburgh – regardless of who your landlord is.
Equally, if you live in an area without a tenants’ group, you can still join as an individual associate member, and organisations that share our aims and values can also become associate members.
To find out more about membership, contact the Federation office by email at info@edinburghtenants.org.uk or call 0131 475 2509.
A Bill to raise funds towards Scotland’s cladding remediation programme carries “significant risk” to the housing market, says a parliamentary report published today.
Holyrood’s Finance and Public Administration Committee says it is “unconvinced” that the Scottish Government has fully considered the implications of the Bill on the nation’s ‘housing emergency’.
The committee has decided, therefore, to make no recommendation on the general principles of the Bill – a first time for this committee – and says it hopes the government will respond positively to its findings.
The committee is also calling on the government to carry out market ‘sensitivity analysis’ prior to deciding levy rates and reliefs, and to monitor the effect of the new tax on the housing sector.
Finance and Public Administration Committee convener Kenneth Gibson said:“Our committee understands the Scottish Government’s intent behind this Bill, but we believe the introduction of the levy carries significant risk.
“We have concerns regarding its potential impact on the housing market, and on the delivery of houses in areas where the viability of building sites is already challenging.
“We are unconvinced that the government has fully considered the implications for its self-declared housing emergency when designing the policy approach for this levy. We also believe the policy design has been focussed on the arbitrary figure that the levy could raise, and not sufficiently focussed on developing a good, well-structured levy that is sustainable.
“On the basis of the evidence received, our committee makes no recommendation on the general principles of the Bill. We trust that the Scottish Government will respond positively to our recommendations to inform further discussion of the general principles during the Stage 1 debate in the chamber in January 2026.”
Calling for regular reports on the housing market impact, Mr Gibson said:“Our committee recommends that the reporting requirements in the Bill be strengthened, so that the government is required to report every three years on how the levy is working. That report should include an assessment of how the levy is impacting the Scottish housing market in practice.”
Mr Gibson went on: “Our committee does not consider the levy to be fully reflective of the sensitivities of the housing market in Scotland.
“We therefore recommend the government undertakes a sensitivity analysis, to assess in more detail, the impact of the levy on the housing market – in particular on rural sites and on SME developers.
“The analysis should be published in time to inform the government’s decisions in setting levy rates and, where applicable, any reliefs, through secondary legislation.”
Other findings and recommendations:
there is a strong case for exempting remote rural areas from the scope of the levy. While recognising the challenges in developing an appropriate definition for remote rural developments, this should not be a barrier to introducing this important exemption.
the Bill should be amended to include a sunset clause to provide an opportunity to robustly review after 15 years how the levy is operating and for the Scottish Parliament to then decide whether the law should remain in place. This, we consider, should provide much-needed reassurance to the industry that the levy is not intended to become a permanent tax on housebuilding.
the committee is concerned about the potential for the levy to contribute to the loss of historic buildings in Scotland. It recommends the government considers a targeted broadening of this exemption for conversions, which will help to protect historic buildings that may otherwise remain abandoned.
Minister Ivan McKee announced in November 2025 that introduction of the levy rates will be pushed back by more than a year to April 2028.
The Stage 1 debate on the Building Safety Levy (Scotland) Bill is expected to be debated by Parliament in the new year.
Making more social rent homes available would allow households currently using unsuitable temporary accommodation, such as bed and breakfasts, to access more appropriate settled accommodation. This would return B&Bs to their intended uses of shorter-term guests.
It is expected the Fund would support three new build developments – at Fountainbridge, Meadowbank and Coatfield Lane in Leith – with around 361 social rented homes and around 111 mid-market rent homes.
The investment is subject to approval from Council at the budget meeting on 26 February 2026. If it proceeds, the performance of the delivery programme will be reported to the Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Committee on an annual basis.
The levy applies to paid overnight accommodation booked after 1 October 2025, if the stay takes place from 24 July 2026 onwards. It is a 5% payment on the accommodation-only cost and applies to the first five nights’ stay.
The scheme is projected to raise up to £50 million a year to invest in developing, supporting and sustaining services for visitors to the city, and enhancing Edinburgh’s worldwide appeal as a place to visit and live.
Council Leader Jane Meagher said:“Many of those working in our city’s thriving visitor economy and cultural sectors are often unable to find affordable housing in the city, making it difficult for them to live close to where they work.
“In addition, the Council has declared a housing emergency, with more and more people presenting as homeless and not enough social homes available to meet this demand, and so too many residents have to use temporary accommodation, often in bed and breakfasts or hotels, taking vital capacity away from what should be tourist accommodation.
“That’s why it’s so important that this new funding is being committed towards a Housing and Tourism Mitigation Fund, which will be used alongside our existing investment programme for house building.
“This will ensure affordable homes are available for visitor economy workers in the city and means that bed and breakfast and hotel rooms can be used for their intended purpose – to welcome visitors to Edinburgh.
“This is the first fully agreed use of the Edinburgh Visitor Levy’s funds and will help deliver our objectives of developing, supporting and sustaining the quality public services and infrastructure that Scotland’s capital city must deliver for all visitors, residents and businesses.”
The money generated by the Visitor Levy scheme will be reinvested directly into initiatives that benefit residents and enhance visitor experiences.
In addition to housing, the investment streams include: city operations; destination and visitor management; culture, heritage and events; and a participatory budgeting programme, which will further allow residents and communities to have a say in how investment can be made to enhance the visitor experience in their area.
These investment streams are being developed by officers, and the Visitor Levy Advisory Forum will be consulted on all proposals. The proposals will be presented for final approval from relevant Council committees in January and February 2026.
Fiona Campbell MBE, Chief Executive, Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers and Vice Chair of Scottish Tourism Alliance (STA) Policy Group said:“The ASSC fully supports the delivery of more affordable housing but this is not the right way to go about it.
!The levy was meant to support visitor infrastructure and services, not fund housing projects. Tourism businesses are once again being scapegoated for issues far beyond their making.
“It is deeply regrettable that Edinburgh Council now lays itself open to further avoidable legal and reputational damage. Instead of brushing aside reasonable concerns, the Council should listen to industry partners who will ultimately be the ones administering their visitor levy scheme.
“We urge the Council to halt these plans immediately until the legal risk has been properly evaluated.”
Scheme launched to help return more empty homes to active use
A new online portal has been launched to bring empty homeowners together with prospective buyers or developers with the aim of facilitating more properties to be used as homes again.
Covering the whole of Scotland, this builds on the success of local pilots, referred to as “matchmaker schemes”, which allow owners of empty homes to upload details of their properties to a website through which anyone, such as first time buyers, families, developers or local authorities, can make purchasing enquiries.
The portal is hosted by the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership and has been developed as part of a £2 million investment this year to recruit additional empty homes officers and fund initiatives that will accelerate the pace and numbers of empty homes that are brought back into use.
Housing Secretary Màiri McAllan said: “If you have an empty home to sell, this new portal is for you.
“Making best use of existing housing stock is central to tackling the housing emergency. Bringing owners and buyers together is a great way of adding to the overall housing supply, be that for affordable housing or use on the private market and it complements our ambitious house building programme.
“We are already making progress in turning around empty properties. Over the past 15 years we have helped return almost 13,000 privately owned homes to use and last year we saw 2,066 homes brought back in a single year, the highest in a year to date.
“I would encourage anyone who has a home lying empty to use this new scheme and seek advice from the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership and their local council to bring their home back into use.”
Tahmina Nizam, Scottish Empty Homes Partnership National Manager, said: “Every home matters in our collective fight against the housing emergency, so we’re delighted to launch this brand-new matchmaker scheme.
“We know selling an empty home can be a daunting task; the matchmaker scheme is designed to make that process easier and to help get more homes back into productive use.
“We want anyone who owns an empty home to know that support is available, either from the network of dedicated local empty homes officers working in local authorities across the country or directly from the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership.
“No home was built to sit empty and it’s vital that we make the best possible use of the assets we already have. Every individual empty property could provide a safe and secure place for someone to call home, but collectively Scotland’s empty homes can make a huge contribution to ending the housing emergency.”
Housing Secretary Màiri McAllan has confirmed the Scottish Government will not introduce a Heat in Buildings Bill in the current session of the Scottish Parliament, following delays to the UK Government’s Warm Homes Plan and lack of clarity on cost of energy bills.
In a statement, Ms McAllan said she would not ask the Scottish Parliament to consider such an important Bill now with little time and without a full understanding of the UK policy context, due to several key policy levers being reserved and decisions delayed.
Ms McAllan reaffirmed the Scottish Government’s commitment to decarbonising buildings in Scotland by 2045 in a way that does not exacerbate fuel poverty, and announced additional grant support for homeowners of up to £7,500 (or up to £9,000 for households in island and remote rural areas) from December to incentivise connections to local heat networks.
The Housing Secretary also said the government intended to bring forward legislation as early as possible in the next parliamentary session, subject to the outcome of the 2026 election and clarity on the UK Government position.
A draft Buildings (Heating and Energy Performance) and Heat Networks (Scotland) Bill has been published to give clarity to households and investors on future plans for legislation.
Màiri McAllan said: “Decarbonising how we heat our homes and buildings is a vital step in our efforts to tackle climate change. We must take action and in a way that does not worsen fuel poverty. The Scottish Government is fully committed to this by 2045, as set out in our draft Climate Change Plan.
“We have always been clear that our plans depend on essential clarity from the UK Government, but repeated delays to their Warm Homes Plan have left key questions unanswered – particularly on how they intend to make the switch to clean heat more affordable by reducing the cost of electricity.
“This is critical in ensuring decarbonising homes does not exacerbate fuel poverty at a time of spiralling energy bills.
“Ultimately, it is perverse that Scottish Ministers should be in the dark about plans related to Scotland’s own energy resources. If we had all the powers of a normal country – including over our own energy resources and market – we would not be in this position.
“In the meantime, we are determined to continue to press ahead with our existing decarbonisation agenda including developing heat networks as a significant investment proposition and viable heating source for households. Therefore, I am pleased to confirm the extension of grant funding for households to connect to local district heat networks, bringing it into line with grants available to install heat pumps.”
Since 2020, the Scottish Government has allocated £1.67 billion of funding through its Heat in Buildings schemes, including over £840 million for energy efficiency and clean heat projects.
Since 2020, the Scottish Government has supported an average of 15,000 households a year to decarbonise, including those in or at risk of fuel poverty and since the launch of Warmer Homes Scotland have helped over 47,000 households across Scotland to live in warmer homes that are more affordable to heat.
A heat decarbonisation target to replace direct emission heating systems in all Scottish buildings, as far as reasonably practicable, by 2045;
A regulation-making power to set a Minimum Energy Performance Standard for owner-occupied and non-domestic buildings that use direct emission heating systems; and
Provisions to encourage the development of heat networks, including a regulation-making power to require qualifying buildings within a heat network zone to connect to the heat network, or decarbonise their heating system
Grant support will be introduced for homeowners to enable connections to heat networks through the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan scheme.
Up to £7,500 of grant funding will now be available to homeowners, in addition to the optional £7,500 interest free loan. For those that qualify for island/remote rural uplift through the scheme, an additional £1,500 of grant funding will be available.
Gillian Campbell, Co-director at the Existing Homes Alliance, said: “This critical legislation has the potential to transform lives and communities across Scotland, cutting fuel poverty and climate emissions, whilst stimulating economic growth and job creation.
“But, creating good legislation requires proper scrutiny. As a result of repeated delays, we’re now at the stage where Parliament doesn’t have sufficient time to properly scrutinise and strengthen the Bill.
“This Bill, as currently drafted, will not drive the scale of activity needed to upgrade Scotland’s homes and meet climate change and fuel poverty targets.
“The next Scottish Government must act quickly to put the right legislation in place, and ensure time for good quality debate. In our manifesto for Holyrood 2026, we’re calling on the next Scottish Government to deliver a clear route map to warm, healthy homes by 2045. We need early sight of effective regulations, along with multi-year funding for fuel poverty and energy efficiency programmes.
“The next government must break down the barriers that prevent households, especially those in or at risk of fuel poverty, from accessing energy efficiency upgrades and clean heating. That means fully funding support for vulnerable households and providing fair financial incentives so that everyone can make the switch to clean heating with confidence
“It’s been over four years since the Heat in Buildings Strategy was published – it’s high time we started seeing action or Scotland is going to be left behind. It’s not too late – if the next Scottish Government moves swiftly to put the right building blocks in place, all of Scotland can benefit from a just transition to energy efficient homes and clean heating that leaves no-one behind and is affordable to all.”
Nature is not a “blocker” to delivering new housing, but rather a necessity for building resilient towns and neighbourhoods, MPs argue in a new report.
In its report on ‘Environmental sustainability and housing growth’, Westminster’s cross-party Environmental Audit Committee challenges the “lazy narrative” that nature is a blocker or an inconvenience to delivering housing.
The Committee finds that the measures contained in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, passing through final stages in Parliament, are not enough to allow the Government to meet its targets on both the environment and housing.
MPs also find that without further action, severe skills shortages in ecology, planning and construction will make it impossible for the Government to deliver on its housebuilding ambitions.
A full summary of the Committee’s conclusions and recommendations is included below.
Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee Toby Perkins MP said: “The Government’s target to build 1.5 million homes by the end of this Parliament is incredibly ambitious.
“Achieving it alongside our existing targets on climate and sustainability – which are set in law – will require effort on a scale not seen before.
“That certainly will not be achieved by scapegoating nature, claiming that it is a “blocker” to housing delivery. We are clear in our report: a healthy environment is essential to building resilient towns and cities. It must not be sidelined.
“There are certainly issues standing in the way of meeting both our housebuilding and environmental targets.
“For instance, the skills we need in construction, planning and ecology simply do not exist at the scale we need right now. The Government has made welcome investments in construction skills, but it may not be enough, and staff at local authorities and regulators are already stretched to their limit.
“We also need much better incentives for people to construct and live in carbon-friendly homes, or to retrofit existing ones. That’s why this report suggests innovative approaches to boost manufacturing viability of climate friendly construction products and alter the tax burden in favour of climate friendly homes.
“It is possible to build the homes we need while protecting a resilient and healthy environment and allowing nature to thrive. Some major changes might be needed, but nature is not the enemy.”
Nature must not be a “scapegoat” for housebuilding issues
While the Committee acknowledges and welcomes the Government’s amendments to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill (PIB) it says these changes are not enough on their own to ensure the Government can meet its environmental targets alongside housing targets.
“The Government must not veer down the path of viewing nature as an inconvenience or blocker to housebuilding,” the Committee says. “At worst, this approach could lead to the degradation of the natural world, preventing the achievement of legally binding climate and nature targets, upon which our society and economy depend.”
Skills shortages put targets in question
The Committee finds that local planning authorities are severely under-resourced in ecological skills. It heard evidence that staff at Natural England are “stretched to their limits”, that the skills needed to deliver the ecological aspects of planning reforms “simply do not exist at the scale, quality or capacity that is needed”.
The Committee recommends the Government establish a pilot programme for local ecological resource hubs, available to local authorities facing acute resources challenges, by July 2026.
It also recommends that the Government set out a realistic analysis of the construction workforce required to deliver housing targets and the skills that will be needed, and to clearly lay out how Natural England will operate amid staffing cuts and the additional responsibilities that will apply when the Planning and Infrastructure Bill is enacted.
Planning rule changes prioritise growth over the environment
Throughout its inquiry, the Committee heard repeated concerns that the Government’s changes to the presumption in favour of sustainable development, made in the 2024 review of the National Planning Policy Framework, would lead to the environment being “sidelined”.
The Committee finds that the present form of the presumption could result in unsustainable and speculative development. The Committee recommends that the Government amend the current definition of the presumption, to give greater weight to sustainability. It should also strengthen safeguards against environmentally unsustainable, unplanned and speculative development.
More incentives for greener homes
The Committee concludes that the Government must accelerate policies to decrease the carbon emissions of the built environment. MPs recommend the Government should consider steps it could take to incentivise homeowners, housebuilders, landlords and tenants to favour homes with lower levels of embodied carbon.
The Committee also recommends the Government review tax policies such as Council Tax and Stamp Duty to consider the merit of offering lower bands of taxation for homes with lower levels of embodied carbon.
Biodiversity net gain needs more time to succeed
The Committee offers support for the government’s Biodiversity net gain policy. It says it is too early to assess the overall success of BNG but warns against introducing new wide-ranging exemptions to BNG. Whilst accepting minor alterations to the policy, MPs say the Government should not exempt all small sites to ensure that the effectiveness of the policy is maintained.
The Committee also recommends that the Government should:
Incentivise the use of sustainable building materials such as timber or hemp, e.g. by introducing eco-labelling to identify materials with lower embodied carbon and offer support to further expansion of manufacturers in these fields.
Consult on incentives to develop houses with lower full lifecycle carbon, such as a levy on new build properties containing higher levels of lifecycle carbon.
Prioritise retrofitting over demolition by reducing VAT on retrofit projects from 20% and confirm that a property brought back into use would count towards housebuilding targets.
Edinburgh’s Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener Councillor Tim Pogson writes about homelessness services
As I embark on a new role as Edinburgh’s Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener, I’m all too aware of the severe pressures facing the city.
We’re now two years on from declaring a housing emergency in the Capital and demand for safe, comfortable homes is as high as ever. Edinburgh has the lowest amount of social housing per head of population in Scotland with only 14% social housing compared to a national average of 23%.
Here, 80,000 residents live in relative poverty, including one in five children. There are around 6000 homeless households in Edinburgh being supported in temporary accommodation – approximately 11,500 individuals.
These figures are stark, and as we enter colder winter months the necessity to provide warm, accessible accommodation is particularly urgent. Preventing people from becoming homeless in the first place and helping tenants to avoid reaching crisis point is the best way to make sure as many people as possible have somewhere to call home.
I’ve been really impressed by the range of preventative work already being carried out by Council officers, the third sector and other partners to assist households on the verge of homelessness.
Last year, through homelessness prevention services we helped prevent homelessness for 2,622 households under the umbrella of the Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan, the city’s comprehensive strategy to tackle and eradicate homelessness. The team works tirelessly to intervene early, supporting people to access settled accommodation as quickly as possible, to reduce the number of people sleeping rough and to create better outcomes for tenants.
Our Housing Emergency Action Plan (HEAP) sets out clear actions to reduce the number of households without settled accommodation and to ease the strain on those most affected by the crisis.
I’m pleased to say we’re making progress in meeting our targets and our continued work to increase affordable housing supply and provide vital support to those at risk of homelessness is beginning to make a real difference.
However, we know this challenge cannot be solved by one organisation alone. A city-wide response is essential. I call on partners across the city from housing associations and charities to community groups, businesses and public services to join us in this collective effort.
Grant funding is critical in the delivery of affordable homes. Whilst we welcome the additional monies that Edinburgh has received over the last few years from the Scottish Government, more is required to truly address the housing emergency. I will not hesitate in advocating to the Scottish Government for Edinburgh to receive both its fair share of affordable housing funding and the investment necessary to tackle its pressing housing needs.
Long term plans like our ambitious housebuilding programme, efforts to acquire new homes directly from providers and bringing empty homes back into use aim to increase our quality housing stock, minimising the need for temporary accommodation.
These kinds of developments give me real encouragement that, while the housing strain can seem bleak, we’re doing everything we can to find solutions and provide residents with the quality of life they deserve. I’m ready for that challenge and look forward to working closely with colleagues and partners across the city to take it on.
This article first appeared in Edinburgh Evening News
