Housing Trends in Scotland: Quarter Ending 31 March 2003

This bulletin presents standard quarterly analyses of housing activity in Scotland for the first quarter of 2003. It includes information on public sector house sales, new housebuilding and local authority lettings and evictions. It also contains annual information on public sector stock, special needs housing, changes to local authority housing list, Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) and private sector improvement grants. Information on homelessness is now being published separately from other housing information. The main points to emerge from the bulletin are as follows:

New house building: 7,133 new dwellings were started during January-March 2003, 796 (13%) more than during the same period in 2002. 5,711 new dwellings were completed during January-March 2003, 122 (2%) less than during the same period in 2002.
Sales of public authority dwellings: A total of 5,258 public authority dwellings were sold to sitting tenants during January-March 2003, an increase of 1,554 (42%) on the same period in 2002.
Lettings and evictions: Local authorities reported that 12,852 permanent lettings were made of local authority dwellings during January-March 2003, 81 more than were made during January-March of 2002. Local authorities reported that there were 219 evictions of local authority tenants during January-March 2003, 96 (30%) less than during the same quarter of 2002.
Public sector stock: There were 513,036 public sector dwellings at 31 March 2003, of which 20,780 were vacant.
Houses in Multiple Occupation: In the year ending 31 March 2003, 2,859 applications were received in respect of the mandatory licensing scheme for Houses in Multiple Occupation. As at 31 March 2003 there were 1,992 licenses in force.
Housing for older people: Local authorities provided 18,504 'sheltered' and 308 'very sheltered' dwellings for the elderly at 31 March 2003, roughly 320 less 'sheltered' and 35 more 'very sheltered' than at 31 March 2002.

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Notes on Contents

Symbols Used

The following symbols are used throughout the bulletin:

.. not available

- nil or less than half the final digit shown

Explanatory notes

Figures which have been revised for this issue (as well as all percentages) are shown in italic type.

In some tables, where figures have been rounded, the total shown may not equal the sum of its constituent parts.

Please note there are no Rent Registration tables included in this bulletin due to the fact we are unable to give any updated figures from our previous Housing Trends Bulletins. Homelessness statistics are now published separately. More detailed breakdowns of the statistics presented in the tables will, in some cases, be available. Contact the Housing Statistics Branch - contact details on the back page to find out what further details can be made available.

Key indicators: 1993 to 2003

Table 1

	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
Revised population estimates at 30 June (000s)	5,092	5,102	5,103	5,092	5,083	5,077	5,072	5,063	5,064	5,055	..
Household estimates at 30 June (000s)	2,085	2,102	2,119	2,136	2,153	2,170	2,186	2,203	..	..	..
Number of households on Census night 29 April 2001									2,192

Estimated stock of dwellings at 31 December (000s) ¹	2,193	2,210	2,230	2,248	2,267	2,285	2,305	2,325	2,345	..	..
% owner occupied	55	57	58	59	60	61	62	63	64	..	..
% rented from public authorities	34	33	31	30	28	27	25	24	23	..	..

Total new dwellings completed	21,221	21,203	24,325	20,950	22,522	20,379	24,397	22,924	23,433	23,327	..
Private sector ^2,3	17,711	17,753	18,310	18,092	17,838	18,329	19,405	17,935	17,859	18,749	..
Housing Associations	2,552	2,789	4,854	2,566	4,507	1,911	4,911	4,894	5,502	4,528	..
Public authorities	958	661	1,161	292	177	139	81	95	72	50	..

Dwellings demolished or closed ³	4,039	3,810	5,837	4,133	4,624	3,635	4,746	5,058	5,188	4,723

Public authority dwellings sold ³	23,499	29,484	27,480	19,196	28,637	22,250	16,633	19,297	17,567	17,813	..

Dwellings allocated by local authorities ^4,5,6	66,939	65,344	63,955	63,113	67,973	65,555	64,612	..	..	53,187	52,250
% new lets	62	62	63	66	65	66	68	..	..	71	74
% new lets under homelessness legislation	24	23	20	21	19	20	21	..	..	17	20

Housing provision for elderly by public agencies and housing associations ⁷
Very sheltered housing	389	547	671	719	913	1,144	1,389	1,689	1,825	2,023	..
Sheltered housing ⁸	32,267	33,100	33,687	34,976	35,484	36,096	34,752	35,342	34,615	34,127	..
Medium dependency housing	15,767	16,506	19,013	18,535	16,883	17,245	16,751	16,870	16,674	15,842	..

Applicants on the Housing Register on 31 March ⁹	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	219,837	226,836	223,687
Number of households (re)housed ^4,9
LA dwellings	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	48,999	49,180	49,349
Other dwellings	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	3,373	3,568	3,576
Houses in Multiple Occupation
Licences in force as at 31 March	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	25	710	1,922

1. 2001 figures are provisional.
2. Includes estimates for outstanding returns for private sector in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002.
3. Includes estimates for outstanding returns.
4. Figures relate to financial years, for instance 1995/96 in the 1996 column. 1994/95 lettings figures are based on incomplete returns.
5. Source: HRA return from local authorities to the Scottish Executive Development Department: Housing 1. This return was discontinued after 1999/00 to be replaced with a new form (LETTINGS) collecting information from 2001/02 onwards.
6. As at 31 March, except for 1996 which is as at 1 April.
7. Figures include sheltered wheelchair, but exclude very sheltered housing
8. These are the combined waiting and transfer list figures.
9. Includes estimates using 2001/2002 figures for City of Edinburgh.

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