SOURCES
Most of the figures are compiled by the Scottish Executive, who collect the data from Local Authorities, New Towns, Housing Associations and Scottish Homes.
The source of information is the Scottish Executive Housing Statistics Unit, unless otherwise stated at the foot of tables or charts.
AREA COVERED
Except where otherwise stated, all tables relate to Scotland.
DWELLINGS
A dwelling is a building or any part of a building which forms a separate and self-contained set of premises designed to be occupied by a family or in some cases, e.g. hostels or cluster flats, groups of individuals.
Temporary dwellings are excluded.
TENURES
Private Sector. This includes dwellings owned by private landlords whether persons or companies, and owner occupiers.
Housing Associations. These are societies, bodies of trustees or companies established for the purpose of providing housing accommodation on a non-profit making basis. They also provide housing for special groups such as the aged, disabled, or single persons or housing on a mutual or self-build basis. In recent years associations have extended their activities into provision of low cost housing for home ownership. In addition registered associations (i.e. those registered with Scottish Homes) are heavily engaged in the regeneration of inner city areas both through rehabilitation and new building.
Non-registered associations are, in the main, now operating on a management basis only.
New Towns. In Scotland, New Town Development Corporations were established under the New Towns Acts for the purpose of laying out and developing New Towns. The New Towns in each Region with their designation and wind-up dates are as follows:
Cumbernauld, Strathclyde Region (December 1955). Wound-up 31 December 1996. 1,275 houses were transferred to North Lanarkshire Council and 2,200 houses were transferred to Scottish Homes on 30 September 1996.
East Kilbride, Strathclyde Region (May 1947). Wound-up 31 December 1995. 7,834 houses were transferred to East Kilbride District Council (now South Lanarkshire Council) at the end of November 1995.
Glenrothes, Fife Region (June 1948). Wound-up 31 December 1995. 4,783 houses and 2,700 garages were transferred to Kirkcaldy District Council (now Fife Council) on 28 September 1995.
Irvine, Strathclyde Region (November 1966). Wound-up 31 December 1996. 1,978 houses were transferred to North Ayrshire Council and 715 houses were transferred to Irvine Housing Association on 29 November 1996.
Livingston, Lothian Region (April 1962). Wound-up 31 December 1996. 3,651 were transferred to West Lothian Council on 1 November 1996. 1,516 houses were transferred to Almond Housing Association on 29 October 1996 and 66 sheltered houses were transferred to Bield Housing Association on 21 October 1996.
Scottish Homes. This is a housing agency which replaced the Scottish Special Housing Association (SSHA) and the Housing Corporation in Scotland on 1 April 1989. Scottish Homes is primarily an enabling and funding body, but also has a landlord function having inherited all of the SSHA housing stock.
Government Departments. The figures relate to dwellings provided or authorised by Government Departments for the families of police, prison staff, the armed forces and certain other services.
DWELLINGS ALLOCATED BY LOCAL AUTHORITIES
Dwellings allocated by local authorities. The number of applicants allocated houses by local authorities, including non local authority stock to which the local authority has allocation rights.
New lets. This is taken to be the number of houses allocated to waiting list applicants plus other applicants such as those housed under the National Mobility Scheme, and under Part II of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987. Other transfers and exchanges are not included in this percentage.
Lets to homeless. This is the number of houses allocated to applicants under Part II of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987. These are also included in new lets.
STOCK ESTIMATES BY TENURE
Estimates of the total dwelling stock from 1991 onwards are based on the 1991 Census. This included a count of the number of dwellings. The tenure was derived using a method which combined information from the Census, the Post Census Survey of Vacant Dwellings, and public authorities’ counts of their own stock.
Once this baseline is established it is updated using information on new housebuilding, conversion of property to housing use and demolitions, collected on returns submitted to the Scottish Executive as well as public authorities’ counts of their own stock and Scottish Homes count of housing association stock.
Estimates of the dwelling stock by tenure from Censuses require additional assumptions about tenure of dwellings where no usual residents were present on Census night, and about whom the information on tenure was not collected directly at the time. They are therefore liable to wider margins of error than the estimates of total stock.
Updating of the baseline uses information on stock change (gains from new building and conversion and losses through demolition) by tenure, provided on the Scottish Executive returns. Transfers of stock from one sector to another also have to be taken into account, for example, sales of public authority dwellings to tenants (owner occupiers).
Most of this information on stock transfers is also provided directly on returns to the Scottish Executive. However, no regular information is available on transfers within the private sector, from the private rented sector into owner occupation, about which assumptions based on survey evidence have to be made.
FINANCIAL KEY INDICATORS
Housing finance figures for capital and current expenditure outturn were changed from net to gross terms in 1988 with the introduction of the new planning total (elements of public expenditure for which central government is responsible). Figures prior to 1988 which were shown in net terms have been revised and are now shown in gross terms. These figures include expenditure on housing by Local Authorities, New Towns and Scottish Homes.
MORTGAGE LENDERS
The operation and analysis of the 5 per cent sample survey of mortgage completions is described in an article by Bob Pannell and David Champion in Housing Finance No. 16, November 1992.
The figures relate to a sample of mortgages advanced for the purchase of single dwellings which are to be used wholly or partly for owner occupation. The sample size for Scotland is between 2,000 and 3,000 cases a year. The dwelling prices index is a weighted average of prices of a standard collection of dwellings. The indices are adjusted for changes in the mix of properties mortgaged to lenders. The series based on building society lending has been terminated and a series based on a sample of mortgage completions by all types of lender with 1993 = 100 is now in use. This series contains data back to 1993. The coverage of the index has been widened to offset the effects of changes and forthcoming changes in the building society population due to mergers and conversion to plc status. Details of the methods by which the indices were constructed were published in Economic Trends 348, October 1982.
Average income details are for mortgage loan purposes as recorded by the UK mortgage lenders.
HOUSEBUILDING
Tenders accepted. Local Authority, New Town and Scottish Homes houses are counted as "accepted" in the quarter in which tenders have been reported as accepted by the authority. When houses which have been reported as accepted are subsequently withdrawn, the cancellation is recorded in the quarter in which the tender acceptance was originally recorded.
Tenders accepted, awaiting start. This means that tenders have been accepted for the construction of dwellings but that construction has not yet begun; e.g. if work has commenced on 5 dwellings in a scheme of 20 for which tenders have been accepted, the remaining 15 are "Tenders accepted, awaiting start".
Housing Tender Price Index. The Housing Tender Price Index, compiled by the Scottish Executive Building Division, measures the overall change in contractor’s pricing levels in Scottish public sector housing projects. It is based on successful tenders for 1 to 4 storey housing contracts throughout mainland Scotland. Using a standard sampling methodology, items to a minimum value of 25 per cent of each trade are selected from Bills of Quantities, compared with a predetermined price base and weighted according to the proportionate value of the trade to the total Bill. The index figure is derived from the arithmetic mean of each quarter’s sample. Tenders are allocated to the quarter in which the tender date falls.
Any enquiries about the index should be addressed to the Scottish Executive Building Division, Victoria Quay, Edinburgh EH6 6QQ (telephone 0131 244 7482).
Started. A dwelling is regarded as started on the date work begins on the foundations of the block of which the dwelling will form a part and not on the date when site preparations begin. Scottish Homes no longer engage in new building.
Under Construction. A dwelling is under construction if it has been started but not completed, even if work is temporarily suspended for any reason.
Completed. A dwelling is completed when it is ready for occupation whether in fact occupied or not. If a dwelling is transferred to another agency after completion it is considered to have been completed by the first agency.
PUBLIC AUTHORITY HOUSE SALES
Part III of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 as amended gives most secure tenants of public authority houses the right to buy their homes, provided they have right to buy. The tables on public authority house sales in this volume include both right to buy and voluntary sales.
For right to buy sales, the selling price is determined (as laid down in section 62 of the Act) as the market value of the property less a discount. The minimum discount in respect of a house is 32% of the market value, plus an additional 1% for each year beyond 2 years occupation by the tenant, up to a maximum discount of 60%. For flats, the minimum discount is 44% of the market value, plus an additional 2% for each year beyond 2 years occupation by the tenant, up to a maximum discount of 70%. Applications to purchase may reflect the terms of section 65 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1988. This means that discount will be restricted where the price, taking into account the discount to which the tenant is entitled, is less than the admissible costs incurred in providing, improving or maintaining the house over a period broadly 10 years prior to the application to purchase being submitted. Houses owned by non-charitable housing associations came within the right to buy legislation in January 1987. For voluntary sales, the Secretary of State has issued a general consent permitting discounts of 30% for houses and 40% for flats plus an additional 1% and 2% for houses and flats respectively for each year of tenancy up to maximum levels of 60% and 70%.
Rent to Mortgage sales were first introduced as a pilot scheme in October 1989 for tenants of Scottish Homes and New Town Development Corporations. From 1 April 1991 this was extended to local authority tenants. A new statutory Rent to Mortgage Scheme for all public authority tenants was introduced on 27 September 1993 via the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993. The discount levels under the Rent to Mortgage scheme are 15% less than under Right to Buy and are designed so that mortgage repayments will be less than the current rent paid. The minimum discount in respect of a house is 17% of the market value, plus an additional 1% for each year beyond 2 years occupation by the tenant, up to a maximum discount of 45% after 30 years tenancy. For flats, the minimum discount is 29% of the market value, plus an additional 2% for each year beyond 2 years of occupation by the tenant, up to a maximum discount of 55%. Rent to Mortgage sales also differ from Right to Buy sales in that there is a deferred part of the financial commitment which is repaid on disposal of the property or demise of the owner. The deferred financial commitment may also be redeemed in whole or in part at any time.
HOUSING ASSOCIATION SALES
In 1994 Scottish Homes revised the classification of, and the figures provided for, housing association sales to include all such sales. The following terms are included in Table 11:-
RTB - Sales through Right to Buy Scheme
RTM - Sales through Rent to Mortgage Scheme
VOLUNTARY - Voluntary Sales to sitting tenants
OPEN MARKET - Dwellings sold on Open Market
IFS - Improvement for Sale sales
SHARED OWNERSHIP - Outright (100%) Sales of Shared Ownership dwellings. Figures not available before 1991-92.
CO-OWNERSHIP SALES - Sales of co-ownership dwellings.
THE TOLERABLE STANDARD AND STANDARD AMENITIES
Table 13a
The Tolerable Standard is a set of minimum criteria for housing as specified in the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 and shown below. It is a standard against which the condition of all dwellings (of all tenures whether occupied or vacant) is judged. Local authorities are required to inspect their areas from time to time to identify dwellings which are below the Tolerable Standard (BTS). It is for authorities themselves to determine whether a dwelling is BTS. Authorities also have a duty to take action on such dwellings within a reasonable period; this can be by encouraging improvement or requiring it by statutory notice (and grant assistance is available in both cases) or by closure or demolition. Improvement is the most common means of dealing with BTS.
Section 86(1) of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 defines a dwelling as meeting the Tolerable Standard if it:-
a. is structurally stable;
b. is substantially free from rising or penetrating damp;
c. has satisfactory provision for natural and artificial lighting, for ventilation and for heating;
d. has an adequate piped supply of wholesome water available within the house;
e. has a sink provided with a satisfactory supply of wholesome water available within the house;
f. has a water closet available for the exclusive use of the occupants of the house and suitably located within the house;
g. has an effective system for the drainage and disposal of foul and surface water;
h. has satisfactory facilities for the cooking of food within the house;
i. has satisfactory access to all external doors and outbuildings.
Dwellings which fail the Tolerable Standard may lack one or more of the "standard amenities" as set out in the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 (and shown below). Some of these amenities form part of the Tolerable Standard and so if a dwelling lacks them it is BTS. The Department also collects information on dwellings which are BTS and lack a fixed bath or shower. Where a dwelling lacks one or more of the standard amenities the local authority must give a grant for their installation on demand, although they are usually provided as part of comprehensive improvement with the aid of grant.
The standard amenities as defined in Schedule 18 to the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987
a. a fixed bath or shower;
b. a hot and cold water supply at a fixed bath or shower;
c. a wash-hand basin;
d. a hot and cold water supply at a wash-hand basin;
e. a sink;
f. a hot and cold water supply at a sink;
g. a water closet.
SOURCES OF INFORMATION ON BTS HOUSES
Local Authorities provide The Scottish Executive with annual estimates of the number of BTS houses in their areas. Most authorities arrive at these estimates by using results from their most recent local house condition survey (LHCS), together (in years between LHCSs) with information gathered from administrative sources, for example information generated from the administration of improvement grants. Although local authorities have been provided with detailed guidance on how LHCSs should be carried out, there is no requirement on them to use this methodology. The exact methodology in each area may therefore differ, as may the level of accuracy of the estimations made from the surveys. In addition the exact sources used to update the estimates in the years between surveys may differ between authorities and the robustness of such surveys may vary. For these reasons comparison of BTS figures between authorities (and between years) should be made with caution.
The Scottish House Condition Survey (SHCS) also provides estimates of the number of BTS dwellings in Scotland. To date there have been two such surveys, one in 1991 and one in 1996. The 1996 survey gave an estimate of 27,000 BTS dwellings (occupied and vacant) in Scotland, which is very much lower than the estimate of 84,000 obtained from the amalgamation of local authority estimates for that year. The true figure for the number of BTS houses in Scotland in 1996 is likely to be somewhere between these two figures. (A comparison of the results of the 1991 SHCS with local authorities’ BTS estimates was published in The Scottish Executive Statistical Bulletin HSG/1994/8 in November 1994.)
The Tolerable Standard is currently under review. In addition to this review, The Scottish Executive has commissioned research to explore differences in the sources and methods used to produce estimates of of BTS housing. The aim of the research will be to identify key elements of a methodology which would provide reliable and comparable estimates at both local and national level.
ACTION TAKEN ON BTS DWELLINGS
Table 13b
The Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 places a general duty on local authorities to identify BTS dwellings in their areas. They are required to ensure that such dwellings are brought up to the Tolerable Standard, closed or demolished within such period as is reasonable in all the circumstances.
An authority may decide that a dwelling should be brought up to the Tolerable Standard. In most cases it will be for the owner to decide to undertake the necessary works and the authority may offer assistance by way of discretionary improvement grant However authorities have a number of statutory powers by which they can, if necessary, require owners to carry out works to bring their dwellings to the Tolerable Standard.
Authorities report each year, summarising the action which has been taken on BTS dwellings. See table 13 for action taken in 1996-97.
Improvement orders may be served on dwellings outside Housing Action Areas which fail to meet the Tolerable Standard and/or lack a fixed bath or shower. The main requirements of an improvement order are that the house be brought up to the Tolerable Standard and a fixed bath or shower be installed together with any other standard amenities which may be lacking; and the dwelling must also be put into a good state of repair. In any case where the owner does not comply with the Order the authority may acquire the dwelling compulsorily and do the work themselves (although this does not often happen). Where the owner carries out the work the authority must give an improvement grant.
Repair notices under the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 may be served on dwellings which are in serious disrepair or may become so if neglected. Such a notice requires that the owner bring the dwelling to a reasonable standard of repair and, if the notice is not complied with, the authority may itself carry out the works and recover the cost. Where a notice is served the authority may give a repair grant. Dwellings in serious disrepair are not BTS on that count alone but they may be if, for example, disrepair in the roof has led to substantial penetrating damp or disrepair in rones or downpipes has made ineffective the drainage of surface water. Service of repair notices cannot therefore be taken as action on BTS, but in some cases (which cannot be identified separately) the works will have the effect of bringing dwellings to the Tolerable Standard. In some cases, the figures include repair notices served on commercial property such as shops forming part of a tenement block, where these form part of a common repair scheme.
(Local authorities may also close or demolish BTS dwellings. Closing orders are usually a prelude to demolition and prohibit the use of a BTS dwelling. They may be served only on buildings in shared ownership where one or more, but not all, of the houses or flats fail to meet the Tolerable Standard. A closing order puts an end to the residential use of those houses or flats and when arrangements have been made for the entire building to be vacated it is demolished. Demolition orders may be served only on individual dwellings which are BTS or buildings in common ownership in which all the dwellings are BTS. A closing or demolition order may be suspended or revoked if the owner undertakes to bring the dwelling to the Tolerable Standard and the local authority agrees that it should be preserved.)
Local authorities may declare Housing Action Areas, of which there are three types: for improvement, for demolition, or for a mixture of both. It is for the authority to determine the most appropriate type in any case. Most Housing Action Areas are now for improvement and these may be declared where all or the majority of dwellings in an area fail to meet the Tolerable Standard or lack one or more of the standard amenities. Works in Housing Action Areas are often carried out, or organised by, local authorities, often through the agency of a housing association. The main aims for a Housing Action Area are that all dwellings are brought to the Tolerable Standard, are provided with all the standard amenities, and are put into a good state of repair. Where a Housing Action Area requires improvement the local authority must give a grant to the owners.
IMPROVEMENT
Local Authorities. Included under this heading is improvement of subsidised and non-subsidised houses. The latter involves rehabilitation improvements and also includes conversions whereas the former involves modernisation work.
OPERATION OF THE HOMELESS PERSONS LEGISLATION
Summary of legislation
The Housing (Homeless Persons) Act 1977, now consolidated into Part II of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 introduced statutory duties on housing authorities to assist those who are homeless or threatened with homelessness (potentially homeless), including providing accommodation in certain circumstances.
The legislation requires local authorities to make inquiries into the circumstances of applicants to satisfy themselves whether the applicant is homeless or potentially homeless. Once the authority is satisfied this is the case, it must also determine whether the applicant has a priority need, whether he/she became homeless intentionally and, in some cases, whether the applicant has a local connection with another authority in Scotland, England or Wales. A local connection with an authority means that the applicant normally resided in that area from choice, or because he/she was employed in or had family associations with it or for other special reasons.
Section 24 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 defines homelessness for the purposes of the Act as follows. A person is homeless if he/she has no accommodation in Scotland, England or Wales. A person is also homeless if he/she has accommodation but cannot occupy it, for example because of a threat of violence. A person is potentially homeless (threatened with homelessness) if it is likely that he/she will become homeless within 28 days. A person is intentionally homeless if he/she deliberately did or failed to do anything which led to the loss of accommodation which it was reasonable for him/her to continue to occupy.
A household is regarded as having a priority need for accommodation if:
1. it contains dependent children
2. a member of the household is pregnant
3. a member of the household is vulnerable because of:
old age,
physical disability,
mental illness or handicap,
or other special reasons
4. a young person under 21 is looked after by a local authority (formerly "in care") at school leaving age or later.
5. the household is homeless in an emergency (eg fire or flood)
(Housing (Scotland) Act 1987, Section 25).
Use of Temporary Accommodation
The figures on households in temporary accommodation in this bulletin relate only to those households who have been placed in such accommodation by a local authority under the homeless persons legislation. This will include households for whom the local authority’s decision and final action is still pending, as well as households who were secured such accommodation as a final action by the authority under the legislation.
Hostels, as temporary accommodation under the homeless persons legislation, are used mainly by Glasgow. In fact all households who are in hostels in Glasgow have been placed there by the authority under the homeless persons legislation. In other authorities, particularly the cities, there are many households living in hostels who have not been placed there by the local authority under the homeless persons legislation, and are not, therefore, recorded in the statistics.
RENT REGISTRATION SERVICE STATISTICS
(A) HOUSING BENEFIT CASES REFERRED UNDER THE HOUSING (SCOTLAND) ACT 1988
Local authorities are required to refer to rent officers most claims for housing benefit from private sector tenants. The rent officer may either:
(a) accept the referred rent, or
(b) if the referred rent is significantly above a market level, determine a market level rent for the property, or
(c) if the size of the accommodation exceeds the needs of the tenants, determine a notional rent for a property of the appropriate size, or
(d) if the referred rent or the lowest of the above determinations is exceptionally high compared with accommodation of the same (or suitable) size in the locality, determine a notional rent determination which is not exceptionally high.
The appropriate rent (AR) for the purposes of table 18a is the minimum of (a) - (d) : it can include service charges that are ineligible for housing benefit which are deducted by local authorities when they calculate a claimant’s housing benefit entitlement.
Local Reference Rents
Since 2January 1996, rent officers have also been required to make an additional determination known as a local reference rent (LRR). The objective is to limit housing benefit to the general level of rents for accommodation of the same size (number of rooms) in the locality. The rent officer determines the LRR by calculating the midpoint of the range of rents (excluding exceptionally high and exceptionally low rents) for properties of the same size in the same locality.
Pre-Tenancy Determinations (PTDs)
A new system of PTDs was introduced on 2 January 1996. These enable prospective tenants and their landlords to obtain an indication of the maximum rent which is likely to be used to calculate housing benefit entitlement prior to commencing the tenancy. An application for a PTD can be made by anyone who is considering renting or who is already renting accommodation from a private landlord and is negotiating a new tenancy and intends to claim housing benefit. A PTD is valid for a particular tenancy for one year. It applies to the original applicant and any subsequent applicants with the same household composition, provided the terms of the tenancy do not change.
(B) TENANCIES REGISTERED UNDER THE RENT (SCOTLAND) ACT 1984 AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSING (SCOTLAND) ACT 1988
Prior to 2 January 1989 most lettings by non-resident private landlords and housing association tenancies could have a ‘fair’ rent registered by the rent officer. In assessing a fair rent, rent officers must follow the rules laid down in the Rent (Scotland) Act 1984, which require consideration of all the circumstances of the tenancy (except personal ones), and the condition of the dwelling. They will take particular account of age, state of repair, character and locality of the dwelling, but disregard any amount attributable to scarcity of similar accommodation in the area. After 3 years a revised rent may be re-registered.
The Housing (Scotland) Act 1988 deregulated new lettings after 2 January 1989. Existing regulated tenancies continue to be covered by the Rent Act legislation as amended. The transitional arrangements mean that there may also continue to be some tenancies registering for the first time. These could include tenancies established before January 1989 which have never been registered, and housing association tenants with existing secure tenancies moving to a different property with the same housing association.