Our legal experts, Amy Anderson, Fiona McLeod, Kirsteen Milne & Jenna Monteith answer commonly asked questions on social and affordable housing.

Amy Anderson answers:

  • What is a housing association?

    A housing association is a private, not-for-profit organisation set up to provide affordable housing options. There are around 160 housing associations in Scotland. Many residents receive financial support to help pay their rent or to buy their house. And housing associations reinvest all the profits they make back into the organisation.

  • Who is the regulator of social housing?

    In Scotland, the Scottish Housing Regulator regulates the social housing sector. They regulate to protect the interests of tenants, people who are homeless and others who use social landlord services. They monitor, assess and report on social landlords' performance of housing activities, as well as registered social landlords' financial wellbeing and management.

Fiona McLeod answers:

  • What is a Scottish Secure tenancy?

    A Scottish secure tenancy is the type of tenancy agreement between a social landlord and a tenant. It sets out a number of rights and responsibilities in both the landlord and the tenant and can only be entered into with a registered social landlord, housing association or a local authority.

  • What is a private residential tenancy?

    A private residential tenancy is the type of agreement that's entered into between a private landlord and a tenant. It sets out a number of rights and responsibilities on both the landlord and the tenant, and it is the type of tenancy agreement that has to bantered into for all private tenancies that started on or after 1 December 2017.

  • What is mid-market rent?

    Mid-market rent is a form of affordable housing which is intended for households with low to moderate incomes. In general terms, mid-market rent tenants pay a lower rent than those in the private sector but a higher rent than those in the social housing sector.

Kirsteen Milne answers:

  • How many housing associations are there in the UK?

    There are around 1,600 housing associations in the UK, of those about 140 are in Scotland, with the remainder in England and Wales. The Scottish Housing Regulator has 170 organisations listed as social landlords, but about 30 of those are local authorities.

  • What percentage of new developments have to be social housing?

    National Planning Framework 4 that applies in Scotland states that development proposals for new homes must have at least 25% of the new homes being affordable housing. There are some exceptions to this. But some local authorities, like City of Edinburgh Council, have even higher requirements. The City Plan 2030, which was approved by councillors in early autumn, requires that 35% of new homes are affordable housing.

Jenna Monteith answers:

  • What is social housing?

    Social housing is housing which is owned and operated by registered social landlords and local authorities. It's available to anybody aged 16 or over but it's usually allocated in accordance with need. Need is assessed based on a points system in line with the registered social landlord or the local authority’s allocations policy. Rents are set at affordable levels and the form of tenancy is usually a Scottish secure tenancy which is long-term and secure.

  • What is affordable housing in Scotland?

    Affordable housing is often delivered with grant funding from the Scottish Government and that grant funding helps keep prices and rents at rates which are lower than market levels.

  • What is private rent?

    Private rent refers to renting a home from a landlord who is not a registered social landlord or a local authority. The landlord could be a company or it could be an individual. The rents will be set by the landlord and will usually reflect the rents payable in the local area. Almost all new tenancies granted since 1 December 2017 should be private residential tenancies which can only be terminated by a landlord in certain circumstances.

Get in touch

If you are a developer or landlord looking for advice on social and affordable housing, please get in contact with one of our social housing lawyers.

Contributors

Amy Anderson

Senior Associate

Fiona McLeod

Partner

Kirsteen Milne

Partner

Jenna Monteith

Legal Director