New poll shows strong public support for greater investment in housing

A new opinion poll shows strong support for the Scottish Government to continue to invest in housing.

The exclusive poll, commissioned to coincide with Scottish Housing Day, shows that 46 per cent of Scots think that the government is responsible for ensuring everyone has a home to live in, compared to 29 per cent who think it is the responsibility of either housing associations or local authorities.

Carried out by YouGov, the poll asked 1,066 Scottish adults a series of questions on issues such as the government’s housing policy priorities, factors relating to their ideal home, and perceptions around choice and affordability in different tenures. The results are weighted to be representative of the Scottish population as a whole in terms of age, gender, education level, social status and geographic location.

The poll also found that:

• 62 per cent of those aged 50-64 identified increasing the supply of social housing as the most important housing policy area for government, compared to just 12 per cent of young people aged 18-24. • The most important issues identified by this age group (18-24) were helping first time buyers with the cost of their first home and limiting rent increases in the private rented sector. • When thinking about their ideal home, 41 per cent of those questioned identified location as the most important factor to them, followed by affordability or maintenance costs at 36 per cent, and space at 28 per cent.

Commenting on the poll, CIH Scotland national director Callum Chomczuk said: ‘Despite facing a number of challenges, including an ageing population, cuts to welfare, and the as-yet-unknown impacts of Brexit, this new poll, commissioned for the third annual Scottish Housing Day, shows that housing remains a top public policy priority for many Scots.

‘Published on September 4, the Scottish Government’s Programme for Government set out some of the challenges facing housing now and in the future, and committed to developing a vision for how our homes and communities should look and feel in 2040 and the options and choices to get there.

‘It is clear from this poll that the people of Scotland are looking to the Scottish Government to provide leadership and to continue to invest in all tenures of housing to ensure that everyone in Scotland has a home that is warm, affordable and accessible in a place they want to live.’

Scottish Housing Day will take place on Wednesday September 19.

The day is organised by the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) Scotland, the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA), Homes for Scotland, Shelter Scotland, the Association of Local Authority Chief Housing Officers (ALACHO), the Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL), the Tenant Participatory Advisory Service Scotland (TPAS), Regional Network of Registered Tenants Organisations and the Scottish Government.

Its purpose is to raise public awareness of the latest developments in housing and to give people the resources that they need to make informed decisions about their housing options.