"Technically heat networks aren't really difficult. It is just large-scale plumbing. The heat's already there, we're just moving it.” With the Scottish Government’s New Build Heat Standard now in force, the installation of ‘direct emission’ systems for heating for new build homes and other buildings is now banned in Scotland. Effectively, this mean…

“If we have a choice between a tenant having their home flooded or having to put on an extra jumper, which would you recommend?” For anyone who has encountered architect Fionn Stevenson over her career, her answer to this question will be obvious. It forms part of her claim that a blanket one-size-fits-all fabric-first approach to retrofitting shou…

Almost a year since Scotland appointed its first dedicated housing minister, three councils have declared housing emergencies due to mounting pressures in their local housing systems and dozens of others could be set to follow. Now housing bodies across Scotland are making a concerted effort to say that it's not just individual regions that are str…

With the Tenant Protection Bill’s in-tenancy rent cap and eviction measures due to expire in a matter of weeks, the Scottish Government has proposed an adjudication scheme to ease the transition until a long-awaited Housing Bill comes to pass. Under the proposals, the process for rent adjudication will temporarily be modified from April 1st for one…

Fresh from being recognised by CIH Scotland with a Lifetime Achievement award for having gone the extra mile during his career, Grampian Housing Association chief executive Craig Stirrat joins Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black to talk about his 40 years in housing so far and the current challenges facing the housing sector. Hear Craig's views on housi…

With Reidvale Housing Association currently considering its options after shareholders voted against a proposed transfer of engagements to Place for People Scotland, Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black reflect on some of the issues that have been raised so far. They spoke to Glasgow Labour MSP Paul Sweeney, who was a prominent part of the campaign again…

Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black step outside the Scottish social housing bubble to consider the impact of housing design in the aftermath of a disaster. Earlier this year, architect and University of Dundee lecturer Laurence Wood took a group of Year 5 Architecture students to Turkey, which had just suffered from a terrible earthquake, to live in ru…

Kieran Findlay is joined by Steve Malone and Johnny Cadell, both principal architects at Architecture & Design Scotland, and Grant Baxter, the planning & building standards team leader at Clackmannanshire Council, to tell the story of a town centre development at Primrose Street in Alloa. Together they share their experiences of working to support …

It is difficult to remember a time when global, UK and national events have aligned so acutely to heap even more pressure on Scotland's local housing systems. Committed professional sectors from across the housing, homelessness and refugee sectors gathered at Scotland's Annual Homelessness Conference on October 31st to unlock solutions to these unp…

Scottish Housing Day took place last month to celebrate careers across housing by showcasing the variety of roles and routes into the sector and making the case for housing to be recognised as an important and valued career. But it also served to raise awareness of the need to replace a largely ageing workforce and support the next generation of ho…

While financial pressures have undoubtedly played a huge part in a slowdown of new homes being delivered, there is a strong sense among housebuilders that the planning process is also having a detrimental impact. A recent survey published by our sister publication Scottish Construction Now found that the statutory timeframe for the turnaround of pl…

The 2014 Unsuitable Accommodation Order was introduced to effectively end stays in unsuitable accommodation for any homeless person for more than 7 days. However, with these laws being consistently broken by local authorities for a number fo reasons Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black ask whether the law is fit for purpose. We clarify the legislation ar…

As housing and care providers continue to grapple with Scotland’s ageing population, some are embracing tech more than ever before. Earlier this year, Bield Housing and Care officially launched a digital hub in Linlithgow. Securing £75k in funding from the TAPPI project, it set about showcasing a variety of preventative care technologies that aim t…

The story behind Hanover Scotland’s award-winning development in Drymen has many threads. Not just Hanover’s first certified Passivhaus development, it is located at the very site of its first ever development in Scotland as a separate entity. The project also touches on a number of issues such as community consultation, energy efficiency and the c…

With its latest campaign, the SFHA is aiming to put Housing at the Heart of Scotland and keep it there. It looks to tell stories of the importance of social housing in Scotland and ensure social landlords are given the required support to continue this vital work. In this episode, Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black talk to the SFHA’s director of extern…

The current framework for regulating social landlords in Scotland was introduced in 2019. Since then, tragic incidents here in the UK and worldwide events have changed how RSLs are expected to operate, possibly forever. So in this episode, we’re asking whether the way RSLs are regulated should also be changed to reflect this. Ahead of unveiling a p…

After touching on the use of data in a previous episode regarding Fit Homes, the Scottish Housing News Podcast returns to the issue by further considering other ways in which data analysis is helping inform decision-making across all areas of social housing from creating sustainable communities to assessing the stock condition. To help with this, K…

Recorded at this Year's TPAS Scotland Annual Conference on June 30th, this episode features a panel discussion hosted by Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black alongside Anne Marie Brown, CEO at Dalmuir Park Housing Association, and David Bookbinder, the director of the Glasgow and West of Scotland Forum of Housing Associations. Questions and comments from…

After the Scottish Government published rules for all new properties applying for a building warrant from April 2024 having to utilise zero direct emissions heating systems, we wanted to focus on what it could mean in practice. Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black are joined by Richard Orr, the head of asset and regeneration at River Clyde Homes, who tal…

More than 18 months since we last spoke about environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting (ep 2), Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black reconvene with Link Group's finance director Nick Pollard to discuss how the parameters have changed during this time and how housing associations can benefit from adopting the Sustainability Reporting Standard f…

Fresh from the Scottish Government's anti-poverty summit, Shelter Scotland director Alison Watson joins Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black to share to what extent housing was mentioned during the event. The discussion also touches on Alison’s early career, Housing First, the Temporary Accommodation Task and Finish Group and finishes with a conversation…

As social housing organisations across the country navigate a host of issues from an inadequate number of affordable homes, a cost of living crisis and an ageing population, for those working and living in rural areas, these issues are compounded by a unique set of circumstances such as a lack of local services and an exodus of young families. Two …

Following the appointment of a new minister for housing, we assembled a panel of former guests for a snap reaction. David Bookbinder, the director of the Glasgow and West of Scotland Forum of Housing Associations and Jane Wood, the Homes for Scotland chief executive, join Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black to tell us what they think should be on Paul M…

It was back in December that the Scottish Government agreed to progress legislation proposed by Scottish Labour MSP Alex Rowley that will, they said, “introduce new minimum environmental design standards for all new-build housing to meet the Passivhaus standard, or a Scottish equivalent, in order to improve energy efficiency and thermal performance…

ALACHO, the Association of Local Authority Chief Housing Officers, brings together those tasked with dealing with a multitude of issues which are increasingly shaped by worldwide events. The Covid pandemic led to emergency measures on rents and evictions, while the ongoing conflict in Ukraine prompted efforts to provide homes for refugees. Even the…

The ongoing regeneration of Dalmarnock and the surrounding area has long fascinated Jimmy Black, both from a personal and professional point of view, so we decided to speak to two people at the heart of it. Until recently, Martin McKay was the executive director of regeneration at Clyde Gateway, the urban regeneration organisation which is leading …

Josiah Lockhart took the helm of Changeworks late last year to help implement the environmental charity's new focus on decarbonising Scotland’s homes. Josiah joins Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black to discuss Changeworks' new purpose, the enormity of the challenge and the tools and resources the charity is using to meet the challenge head on. He also …

Continuing with our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) theme, we discuss whether housing associations, membership bodies and other organisations within the sector should be looking to increase diversity among staff, leadership and at board level. Why is it important? And what resources are available for those looking to attract a broader range…

Housing Options Scotland and the UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence (CaCHE) have come together to produce a series of 'In Conversation' blogs and podcast-style recordings which tell stories about why accessible and inclusive housing, and housing-related services, are key to people’s lives. Recognising a gap in evidence and recorded lived …

The Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act gives Ministers temporary powers to cap rent increases for private and social tenants, as well as for student accommodation, until at least 31 March 2023, effectively freezing rents for most tenants during this period. The legislation also prevents the enforcement of eviction actions resulting f…

Back in 2020, Caledonia Housing Association carried out a comprehensive staff survey to review the impact of new working arrangements during lockdown and ensure staff are provided with the support to adapt to new practices and maintain key services for tenants. The survey was a part of the formation and implementation of its 'Agile for Everyone' pr…

The National Housing and Dementia Forum has published a report that sets out recommendations for how the Scottish Government and partner organisations can better support people to live well with dementia. Over the past year, the Forum gathered evidence from a wide range of experts and people with lived experience of dementia. Co-chairs Ashley Campb…

Social housing tenants have a statutory right to have a say in the running of their homes, but what does that mean in practice? TPAS Scotland has been providing support in this very field for over 40 years and has launched a new campaign to help housing organisations and tenants to build better relationships as we recover from the pandemic. To disc…

Ahead of Homes for Scotland's Annual Conference 2022, Jimmy Black and Kieran Findlay speak to the organisation's new CEO Jane Wood who is just three months into her new post. We discuss developer contributions and the recent Homes for Scotland research on the extent of affordable housing contributions by private developers, NPF4 and the availabilit…

Ahead of a BiteSize Briefing on the Future of High Rise Housing to be held later this month, Jimmy Black and Kieran Findlay lead a roundtable discussion on the topic with SHARE's learning & development officer Debra Campbell, who is organising the event, Stephen Llewellyn, head of housing solutions at North Lanarkshire Council, and Mairi Clark, mar…

Jack Rillie is the man charged with leading a new Alliance which aims to eradicate homelessness by 2030. According to Jack, if the same service providers are delivering the same services in 8 years' time as they do at the moment then he'll have "monumentally failed" in his job. Only a few days into his new post, Jack joined Scottish Housing News ed…

From 1 October, the Coronavirus Recovery and Reform Act abolishes mandatory grounds for repossession (ie for eviction) and the First Tier Tribunal will only evict where the members believe it to be reasonable in the circumstances. Given these significant changes, Scottish Housing News editor Kieran Findlay interviewed Daryl McIntosh from Propertyma…

Scottish Housing News editor Kieran Findlay and co-host Jimmy Black embark on a whistle-stop tour of housing issues with Housing Quality Network CEO Alistair McIntosh taking in housing standards, Grenfell, regulation, tenant representation and much more. Alistair helped to set up the arm's length organisation which operated Grenfell Tower and remem…

Last month a survey commissioned by Places for People Scotland revealed some of the stigmas that still surround social housing in Scotland. To discuss this in detail, Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black sit down with Places For People Scotland’s managing director Tom Norris who reveals the mixed results of the survey, his solutions to help eradicate sti…

Jimmy Black attends the recent Holyrood launch of the Scottish Housing with Care Taskforce report and speaks to some of those in attendance including Paul McLennan MSP to get a range of views about Housing with Care and how Scotland can meet the challenge of housing an ageing population. Then Kieran Findlay sits down with Gareth Lyon, director of p…

The use of the term ‘affordable’ has been helpful to those who deliver homes in Scotland, but for others, it has become vague and redundant. Michael Carberry of Blochairn Housing Association is one of the latter. Thankfully, he agreed to come on to the podcast to air his views. John Blackwood from the Scottish Association of Landlords tackles the a…

Scottish Empty Homes Partnership national project manager Shaheena Din joins Jimmy Black and Kieran Findlay to discuss the number of empty homes in Scotland and outline why local authorities should have an Empty Homes Officer and empty homes strategy. Scottish Empty Homes Partnership - https://emptyhomespartnership.scot/ Jimmy Black has written a b…

Jimmy Black and Kieran Findlay are joined by Kirsty McKechnie, early warning system project manager at the Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland,and Aaron Hill, director of membership and policy at the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, for a fascinating discussion on poverty and inequality where they find much to agree on about the link…

Two days later than usual, this episode sees Simon Payne, category manager at Stirling Council, and Hugh Carr, head of strategic procurement at Scotland Excel, steer Jimmy Black and Kieran Findlay through the world of public sector procurement and discuss how the current framework process helps alleviate much of the current challenges. Stirling Cou…

Fresh from the 20th anniversary celebrations of the community buy out on the Isle of Gigha, Community Land Scotland chair Ailsa Raeburn joins Jimmy Black and Kieran Findlay to share the community successes, highlight the transformation of the island’s homes and discuss the parallels between community enterprises and community-based housing associat…

Shelter Scotland’s deputy director Gordon MacRae and Martin Gavin, improvement lead at Homeless Network Scotland, join Jimmy Black and Kieran Findlay to discuss the present homelessness situation in Scotland. Despite strong cross-party consensus on eradicating homelessness and the strong partnerships between government, councils, health, social car…

Jennifer Higgins, the managing director of Connect Modular, part of the Wee House Group, and Andy Kennedy, the project manager for the £13 million Hillcrest development at Dundee’s Victoria Dock, join Jimmy Black and Kieran Findlay to talk all things modular construction. Building homes in factories and transporting them to the site has numerous be…

Ann Leslie of Lar Housing Trust and Matthew Busher of Kingdom Group join Jimmy Black and Kieran Findlay to talk all things mid-market rent (MMR). Find out the typical tenant demographics, funding structure and future expansion plans of both organisations who approach MMR from slightly different angles. Ann Leslie also expands on her Appreciation of…

Jimmy Black and Kieran Findlay are joined by Geraldine Begg, technology enabled care in housing lead at the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations and Heather Dorling, the team manager of Loreburn Housing Association’s Later Living Service, to hear about how Loreburn is using technology to provide a range of services to residents in its enhanc…

Former Dundee housing convener and housing justice campaigner Jimmy Black is joined by former Link Group chief executive Craig Sanderson and TPAS Scotland chief executive Lesley Baird as they cast their minds back to a time when modern housing associations were new and tenants struggled to be heard. Jimmy Black has written a blog to accompany the e…