Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill - UNISON submissions and briefings

Jan 2016: The Scottish government bill to establish a new tenancy in the private rented sector moves to its Stage 1 debate in Parliament on 21 January 2016. UNISON Scotland has argued that the shortage of social housing is the root cause of rising rents in the private sector and that the wider context of the housing crisis needs to be addressed.

MSP e-briefing Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill - Stage 1 Jan 2016

Private Housing (Tenancies) Bill - UNISON Scotland submission to Scottish Parliament Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee Nov 2015

Housing: consultation on a new tenancy for the private rented sector - UNISON Scotland response to Scottish Government Dec 2014

Open the Door - The Homes We Need
A UNISON survey of housing staff on the crisis in Scottish housing, the homes we have - and the homes we need October 2014

From the summary of the document:

Scotland has a housing crisis. We have a crisis with the availability, the cost and the quality of our housing.

This impacts on the lives of those who find themselves inadequately housed, or at the mercy of a system which seems increasingly designed to make it diffiult to sustain themselves in secure accommodation.

This crisis also impacts on the workforce trying to deliver social housing in Scotland. They are struggling to maintain a quality of service against a background of often declining resources and increased fiancial pressure, yet as their workload increases the value of their wages declines.

This brief report looks at scale of the problem.

Seeking to go beyond the raw statistics we bring to bear the experiences of housing staff via the results of a survey of UNISON members working in social housing who are on the front line of trying to cope with Scotland’s housing crisis.

We need as a matter of urgency a large scale investment in both building and refurbishing social housing.

The case for this is both moral and pragmatic.

Addressing the market failure that is Scotland’s housing crisis will meet a crying social need; it will also provide skilled jobs. Done properly it would also reduce carbon use through better insulation and reduced use of energy to heat ineffiient homes, help tackle health inequalities and reduce pressure on other public services.

Any plan for social justice – and Scotland has had no shortage of talk of social justice in recent months – must have housing at its core.

Making Homes for a Fairer Scotland
A UNISON policy paper on Scottish housing
June 2013

UNISON’s policy document on Scottish housing Making Homes for a Fairer Scotland was launched in June 2013

See press release:
6 June 2013: UNISON calls for massive investment in social housing - Launch of new housing policy document Making Homes for a Fairer Scotland

From the summary of the document:

Housing is a key policy are for any country that aims to reduce poverty and inequality, and their long-term effects on health and wellbeing.

Improving our housing requires investment from the public sector.

Housing has been left to the market for too long. The market has failed to deliver.

The investment we need to make in housing would provide a massive boost to our economy by creating skilled jobs, increasing labour mobility and increasing the disposable incomes of ordinary workers.

Done properly it would also reduce carbon use through better insulation and reduced use of energy to heat inefficient homes.

Most importantly it will transform the lives of hundreds of thousands of ordinary people by providing a safe comfortable home so that they and their families, their communities and ultimately our society can reach their full potential.