Scotland faces a massive crisis in the availability, the cost and the quality of our housing. There were more than 150,000 people on local authority housing waiting lists across Scotland in 2015, a level over 30% higher than in 2004. Yet the social housing stock has declined.
Shelter has estimated that we need to build at least 12,000 affordable houses each year to meet current and future need.
UNISON Scotland believes that housing has been left to the market for too long. The market has failed to deliver. The private owned and private rented sectors cannot address the shortage.
This housing crisis requires a massive programme of social housing investment from the public sector. In our policy paper Making Homes for a Fairer Scotland we outlined a new housing programme for Scotland and we have showed how this could be funded, using some of the assets represented by public sector pension funds in our document Funding and Building the Homes Scotland Needs.
Latest news
First Minister must intervene in Bield Housing decision to close 12 care homes
‘ICT should focus on providing better services not cuts’ says UNISON report
Community led public services can transform inequalities, says report
More Housing News
Latest documents
MSP e-brief Private Housing (Tenancies) Bill Stage 1 debate
Briefing 71 – Why we need local government to deliver good health – Jan 2016
Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill
e-brief: Scottish Government Programme 2015-16
Public Services Election – UNISON Scotland Manifesto 2015
Housing: consultation on a new tenancy for the private rented sector
More on briefings page