Housing quality

A new housing settlement

Stephen Richard — Tue, 14 Sep 2021 08:54:06 +0000

A new housing settlement

Primary Author or Creator

Common Weal

Stephen Richard Tue, 09/14/2021 - 09:54

Alternative Published Date

2020

Category

Housing

Type of Resource

Policy Paper

Fast Facts

There is so much wrong with our housing system, from needless homelessness to spiralling costs (which have shut a generation out of housing) to over-mortgaged homeowners struggling financially to the sheer environmental inefficiency of much of the housing we build to the failure to build homes how and where communities need rather than where a developer can make most money.

More details

It is almost politically impossible these days to say that we must control house price inflation – but we absolutely must control house price inflation. The best way to do this is to give people a high-quality, affordable alternative to the private market which is fuelling the rising house prices. Rather than seeing public rental housing as a solution to the ‘problem’ of people who can’t get on the housing ladder or a response to poverty we should see it as a positive choice for people to make. If we developed desirable new sites as public rental housing and built those houses to the highest quality and made them available for social rent, just as in many other European countries young people and families would chose to live in them because its the best option for them and not only because it is the only option.

Common Weal has produced an economic model for how to do this called Good Houses for All. First, we need to use Land Value Capture (explained in this report ) so that the public can buy land at its value pre-planning permission (which after all is a right granted by the public in the public interest). Then by using long term patient finance supplied by the Scottish National Investment Bank it is possible to build houses to the very highest environmental standard without requiring any public subsidy. That means that the number of houses that could be built would be limited only by how many people wanted them. And rents would be slashed – the average two-bedroom house currently costs about £1,400 to rent, heat and maintain each month and yet these new, higher, quality ones would cost only a little over £800 a month. This could represent a revolution in Scotland’s housing system.

But there are other, more direct ways to impact on house prices. The existing Council Tax is grossly unfair, with people living in the least expensive houses paying something like five or six times as much tax proportionately as those living in the most expensive houses. Replacing this tax with one that taxed houses fairly based on their real value would mean that people who have benefited from rising house prices would pay their fair share. That’s why we propose a Property Tax to replace the Council Tax and to dampen down house price inflation.

In the Common Home Plan (our Green New Deal which you can read here) we explain how Scotland can improve the housing it has, bringing it up to the highest possible environmental standards without the homeowner having to pay. By replacing heating systems and properly retrofitting houses with insulation (which will be discussed in more detail in a forthcoming report), borrowing to fund it over a long period, connecting it to a proper industrial strategy so the supply chains for this are captured and by doing it all collectively as part of a Green New Deal we can generate more new public income than the work itself costs.

We have also published two visions for the kind of housing system Scotland should aspire to – House Keeping Scotland and the more economically-focussed Housing for a Better Nation. They cover everything from why we should repair rather than knock down existing buildings to why we should build our new buildings primarily from Scottish timber.

And as explained in our Big Idea on protecting tenants, we have also set out details of why Scotland needs rent controls, why the ones we have don’t work and what it would look like if they were done properly.

Resource Address (URL)

https://commonweal.scot/big-ideas/a-new-housing-settlement/

Keywords

Language English

Get the future of energy right

Stephen Richard — Tue, 14 Sep 2021 08:42:06 +0000

Get the future of energy right

Primary Author or Creator

Common Weal

Stephen Richard Tue, 09/14/2021 - 09:42

Alternative Published Date

2020

Category

Energy

Type of Resource

Video

Length (Pages, words, minutes etc...)

1:35 minutes

Fast Facts

Energy – electricity, heating and transport fuel – is crucial for the modern Scotland we live in. But it can also be one of our biggest threats if we don’t get them right. It can harm our environment and play a major role in causing the climate crisis. ‘Energy inequality’ can harm the health of those who can’t afford to heat their homes. Scotland is one of the few countries in Europe which does not own its energy publicly and the only one that doesn’t own its own National Grid.

Video 1:35 minutes

More details

Common Weal has published too much work on energy to link to all of it here (three key documents are Powering Our Ambitions, Just Warmth and Carbon-Free, Poverty-Free). But most of it is summarised in the Common Home Plan with sections on energy efficiency, electricity, heating and transport

So what is the vision? Scotland is blessed with remarkable renewable energy resources but has cold winters, a lot of inefficient housing, a very high reliance on gas heating and a particular reliance on transport. We need to tackle all of these. The hardest is heating – there is simply no easy solution to weaning ourselves off natural gas. Alternatives which use the same infrastructure (like hydrogen) are very expensive and alternatives like electric heating (also comparatively expensive) would require enormous amounts of work to replace existing household heating systems and would require a very big investment in both more electricity generation and the electricity grid. There is no quick, easy way to do this and retrofitting renewable heating (like Heat Pumps) to most existing houses isn’t realistic. So if we’re going to have to make a massive investment, let’s get it right.

The first step is that we must make our houses much more efficient so we don’t need to heat them so much in the first place, so a major programme of insulating and draft-proofing houses is the first step. Then we need to put in place a heating system which will last for many generations, is clean and efficient and inexpensive for households. The best option is a ‘district heating’ system, where heat is generated in lots of different ways (all renewable), collected in a heat store and then distributed to houses as they need it via a network of pipes. Households just need to switch their existing boilers for heat exchangers and the rest of their heating system should work as is. Make no mistake, this is a truly immense engineering project, but so is anything that heats our homes without feeding a climate emergency.

Electricity is more straightforward in Scotland because of our renewable resources – but we’re going to need more of it. To meet future demand and produce enough spare energy to ensure energy security we will need to double the amount of currently-installed renewable generation and put a lot of energy storage in place. But that’s not enough because if we also want to move to clean transport we’ll need more electricity again – in total about three times what we currently have. Thankfully this can all be achieved with onshore and offshore wind in Scotland, leaving our marine energy resources for other purposes. And if we do it right we can take not only all this new energy into public ownership but the existing energy as well – so we control our own energy system.

Which leaves transport. This too is a massive task – we need to replace the entire fleet of petroleum-based transport. It is almost certain the way to do this is to move to electric battery-power for smaller vehicles like cars and vans and to hydrogen for big vehicles like lorries and ferries. But to achieve that we’ll also need all that extra electricity, a source of clean hydrogen and major investment in charging and refuelling infrastructure.

So where do we get our clean hydrogen from? This is where Scotland’s marine energy comes in. At the moment almost all commercial hydrogen produces carbon dioxide, not when it is used but when it is created in the first place by breaking down natural gas. Clean hydrogen is made with electricity and water – but it needs a lot of electricity. Thankfully Scotland has massive wave and tidal energy opportunities and these can be used to make hydrogen for vehicle transport. Even more than that, it can give Scotland a world lead in hydrogen technology and because we have much more marine energy than we need for domestic transport it is also potentially an amazing export opportunity.

There is no simple solution to our need to clean up our energy, but great opportunities if we do. All that investment creates lots and lots of jobs and economic opportunities in supply chains – but only if we do it right. That’s why we need a proper structure for doing all of this collectively, from the public purse and in the public interest. A National Housing Company can plan and deliver home insulation, a Scottish Energy Development Agency can plan and manage this entire transition and a Scottish National Energy Company can deliver the work and then own our energy system on the public’s behalf.

Resource Address (URL)

https://commonweal.scot/big-ideas/get-the-future-of-energy-right/

Keywords

Language English

21 For 21: The Climate Change Actions Scotland Needs Now

Stephen Richard — Sun, 12 Sep 2021 20:50:44 +0000

21 For 21: The Climate Change Actions Scotland Needs Now

Primary Author or Creator

Common Weal

Stephen Richard Sun, 09/12/2021 - 21:50

Additional Author(s) / Creators

Energy Policy Group

Date Published

Mon, 08/09/2021 - 12:00

Category

Climate change

Type of Resource

Policy Paper

Fast Facts

21 Policies that would enable Scotland to meet our responsibilities as laid out by the 2021 IPCC Sixth Assessment Report

More details

The 21 actions we are calling for are as follows:

1. Build a Green New Deal
Scotland needs a comprehensive, coordinated plan which delivers major social benefits while tackling climate change

2. Start our own energy company
A National Energy Company will let us build and control the infrastructure Scotland needs to decarbonise

3. Plan our energy future
Setting up a Scottish Energy Development Agency enables us to plan the infrastructure we need in the public good

4. Build what we need in the right way
By establishing a National Infrastructure Company we can ensure that the infrastructure we need is built to the highest standard and owned by the public

5. Leave no-one without a warm house
A proper, coordinated plan of increasing energy efficiency for all homes without exception will help householders and reduce carbon

6. Capture waste heat and use it
If we introduce a Heat Supply Act it can require large producers of waste heat to capture and recycle that heat for public use

7. Future-proof the electricity grid
We must commit to long-term investment in local electricity grid reinforcement, management and energy storage to prepare for a secure, renewable energy future

8. Fair connection charges for Scotland’s power
Renewable energy production in Scotland pays a very high cost for feeding it into the grid – this is unjust and must be reformed

9. End coal, end nuclear
Scotland has bountiful renewable energy resources and has no need for dangerous and polluting fuels and energy technologies

10. No new oil
Scotland must ban new oil and gas exploration and set out a route map for phasing out all fossil fuels

11. Train a renewables workforce
To transition people from the fossil fuel and nuclear industries and prepare them for a renewable future we should set up a ‘one-stop shop’ for retraining

12. Back a green hydrogen road-map
Scotland needs clear guidance on how we develop and use Green Hydrogen so we can built this new industry as quickly and efficiently as possible

13. Make energy efficiency meaningful
The way we measure the thermal performance of buildings is riddled with problems so we must reform Energy Performance Certificates so they reflect reality

14. Measure the whole-life energy of houses
Include embodied energy (the energy needed to build a house, not just run it) in the next revision of the Building Standards

15. Energy-efficient appliances only
The energy rating of electrical appliances is about to be revised, so choose now to ban the sale of appliances with ratings below the new C level

16. Make localism work
Prioritising localism has enormous energy-saving benefits so make all neighbourhoods ‘20-minute neighbourhoods’

17. Set a legal right to homeworking
Homeworking saves energy and time, so while not everyone can or wants to home work and no-one should be forced, anyone who does should be given the right to do so

18. Fewer cruise ships
Cruise ships are environmentally damaging and don’t help the economy so Scotland should introduce a quota for cruise ships entering Scottish waters and ports

19. Explore a flights quota
There is no green alternative to the way we fly available so we must limit our flights with flight quotas, a moratorium on airport expansion and investment in airships

20. Divest from fossil fuel
Require all public sector bodies to commit to divesting from fossil fuels in the next year

21. Clean politics
End the influence fossil fuel lobbyists have over our politics by signing up to the Fossil Free Politics campaign

Resource Address (URL)

https://commonweal.scot/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/21-For-21.pdf

Keywords

Renewable manufacturing

Hydrogen

Energy efficient buildings

Homeworking

Language English

Alienating, insecure and unaffordable: Living in Scotland’s private rented sector

Stephen Richard — Tue, 07 Sep 2021 08:51:23 +0000

Alienating, insecure and unaffordable: Living in Scotland’s private rented sector

Primary Author or Creator

Ben Wray

Stephen Richard Tue, 09/07/2021 - 09:51

Additional Author(s) / Creators

Common Weal

Alternative Published Date

October 2017

Category

Private rental

Type of Resource

Assessment report

Fast Facts

Ben Wray analyses new data on the experience of living in Scotland’s private rented sector, and argues for reversing the trend under devolution of increasing privatisation of the rental market.

More details

― The findings of this analysis paper are based on data in the Scottish Households Survey 2016, published by the Scottish Government at the end of September. This data provides fresh insight into the experience of living in housing in Scotland – this paper focuses on the private rented sector (PRS) in particular.

― Young people are the demographic most affected by the growth of PRS, with 40% of 16-34 year olds using PRS today compared to 13% in 1999. Young people face specific challenges in terms of low-incomes, insecure work and poverty. While poverty levels among young people for those in social housing has fallen, it has nearly tripled in PRS from 2005-15. Other demographic groups disproportionately represented in PRS include students and people of Asian descent.

― Private rent is uniquely insecure, with over two-thirds (68%) of people staying less than two years in one flat and 41% staying less than one year. The average PRS stay is 2.8 years, compared to 10.6 years in social housing, nearly five times longer. While it is too early to assess the effectiveness of new Scottish Government legislation to address security of tenure, further measures could be taken to make the power between landlords and tenants more balanced.

― Tenants in PRS accommodation are considerably more alienated from their community than in social housing. Only one in five (19%) PRS tenants had a very strong connection to their neighbourhood, compared to 33% in social housing. 40% in PRS felt they were not very or not at all connected to their neighbourhood, compared to 23% in social housing. Alienation has been linked to public health problems in Scotland. Increasing security of tenure and tackling gentrification – which acts to displace poorer people from their communities – could be part of addressing this issue.

― There is significant demand within PRS for moving to social housing. Approximately 40,000 people in PRS (11%) are on a social housing waiting list. Approximately 5,000 (12%) of that number have been on a waiting list for 10+ years. Nearly one-third (31%) of those are on the waiting list because they can’t afford their current housing, while 11% are on because they’ve been threatened with homelessness. These figures are an indication of the lack of affordability of PRS housing and the under-supply of social housing. The introduction of rent pressure zones is likely to have some effect in restricting future rent rises and tackling regional inequities, but is not necessarily going to reduce the number of PRS tenants finding rent unaffordable. A Dutch model of rent controls which links cost to quality of property and ensure affordability would be a step forward. The Scottish Government’s social housebuilding programme should be stepped up considerably.

― PRS has lower energy efficiency levels than social housing, with only one-third (34%) of homes meeting the Scottish Government’s band-C energy efficiency rating target. Poor energy efficiency is a major driver of fuel poverty, with the PRS sector being the highest contributor of emissions per home. One-third (33%) of PRS households are in fuel poverty. Over half (51%) of PRS properties still fail the Scottish Government’s Scottish Housing Quality Standard, which is mandatory for social housing. 5% of PRS homes fall below the Tolerable Standard, which is categorised as homes that it is not reasonable for a person to continue to live in, compared to 1% in social housing. Quality could be addressed by a system of rent controls which ties quality to cost, incentivising the landlord to improve the property.

― The value of the private rented sector to society as a whole should be reassessed by the Scottish Government, and consideration given to a long-term strategy to reverse the trend since devolution towards increasing privatisation of the rented sector. This could be done through a combination of strengthening and increasing the diversity of social housing so that it is once again a universal service and establishing a regulatory regime for PRS that puts it on at least a level playing field with social housing in terms of quality, affordability and security, restricting its profit-making capacity for landlords. The reversing of privatisation in Scotland’s rental market should be something for Scottish politicians to triumph not fear.

Resource Address (URL)

https://commonweal.scot/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Alienating-insecure-and-unaf…

Keywords

Scottish Households Survey

Rental Housing

Secure tenancies

Housing quality

Language English

The Rent Controls Scotland Needs

Stephen Richard — Tue, 07 Sep 2021 08:30:27 +0000

The Rent Controls Scotland Needs

Primary Author or Creator

Common Weal

Stephen Richard Tue, 09/07/2021 - 09:30

Additional Author(s) / Creators

Living Rent

Date Published

Thu, 02/21/2019 - 12:00

Category

Private rental

Type of Resource

Policy Paper

Fast Facts

This paper makes the case for national rent controls and outlines the problems with the current system of rent pressure zones which have so far been inadequate at preventing the problems high rents and rent insecurity in Scotland.

Instead, rent controls could be designed around a points-based system links to the quality and amenities of a property (rather than market rates) and would be attached to the property rather than the lease.

A new Scottish Rent Affordability Index would peg maximum rents at affordable levels.

A Scottish Living Rent Commission would act as an umbrella body and a centre of expertise and regulation in the private rented sector.

More details

The Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016 granted the Scottish Government the power to introduce localised rent controls or rent pressure zones (RPZs) if local authorities could convince them that:

Rents payable within the proposed rent pressure zone are rising by too
much.
The rent rises within the proposed zone are causing undue hardship to
tenants.
The local authority within whose area the proposed zone lies is coming
under increasing pressure to provide housing or subsidise the cost of
housing as a consequence of the rent rises within the proposed zone.

Despite this legislation, or perhaps because of the limitations of it, rent controls are yet to be implemented anywhere in Scotland, and there are significant grounds to be sceptical that they ever will be. Most notably — as bodies such as Shelter Scotland , Edinburgh City Council and the Highland Council have noted — because there is currently no comprehensive survey of rent level data available on which to make such an assessment.

This paper makes the case for an amended system of genuinely effective, national rent controls, outlines the problems with RPZs, and proposes an alternative model that represents the kind of rent controls Scotland needs.

The key points it makes are as follows (with full detail in the main report):

The case for rent controls:

Rents in Scotland are far too expensive, with increases continuing to outstrip both inflation and wage increases for many tenants.
The quality of Scotland’s private rented housing stock is woefully inadequate.
There has been significant growth in the private rented sector (PRS) since it was deregulated in the 1980s—meaning that issues in the PRS now affect far more people than in previous decades.
Lower-income groups are more likely to live in the PRS and are thus disproportionately affected by rising rental costs in the sector.
Better regulation provides an opportunity for substantial savings to the public purse.

The problems with RPZs:

The burden of proof on local authorities is unreasonable and creates unnecessary barriers in making successful applications.
RPZs only create rental limits within tenancies and do not prevent rent hikes between tenancies—doing little to stabilise rents in the long term.
RPZs only limit increases in rent, so do not address the fact that rents in much of Scotland are already too high.
RPZs do nothing to improve the quality of Scotland’s PRS housing stock. As detailed below, we believe this is a significant missed opportunity and that proper rent controls represent a powerful tool to improve the quality of Scotland’s PRS stock. The 2016 Act sought to provide greater tenant security, but without workable controls on rent, landlords can easily force out tenants through
rent increases.
RPZs can only be applied to small, localised areas, so cannot address the scale and degree of the rent problem in Scotland.

The rent controls Scotland needs:

A points-based system of rent controls linked to the quality and amenities of the property, not simply market rates.
A points-based system which attaches limits to the property, not the lease.
A new Scottish Rent Affordability Index to peg maximum rents at affordable levels for tenants.
A Scottish Living Rent Commission to act as an umbrella body and a centre of expertise and regulation in the private rented sector.

Resource Address (URL)

https://commonweal.scot/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Rent-Controls.pdf

Keywords

Rent controls

Housing quality

Rental Housing

Scottish Rent Affordability Index

Scottish Living Rent Commission

Rent Pressure Zones

Language English

Housing 2040 Consultation Response

Stephen Richard — Tue, 07 Sep 2021 08:19:19 +0000

Housing 2040 Consultation Response

Primary Author or Creator

Malcolm Fraser

Stephen Richard Tue, 09/07/2021 - 09:19

Additional Author(s) / Creators

Fraser/Livingstone Architects, Common Weal, Scotland’s Town Partnership

Category

Housing

Type of Resource

consultation response

Fast Facts

The 2040 “Vision” document sets out aspirations. The overall message, that a good home and community, as a human right, is a font of wellbeing, rather than an outcome of wealth-creation, is very welcome. The following suggests the levers necessary to deliver this and its associated aspirations. It also notes the places where associated policy initiatives and campaigns are advancing.

The proposals cover a wide range of policy areas including: Existing buildings, land and planning, regeneration, finance, leadership, diversification, technology and materials, and tax and wealth.

More details

― Scotland needs a national strategy to repair, upgrade and re-occupy Scotland’s 34,000+ vacant and underoccupied homes.

― The UK Government’s repeated refusal to levelise VAT between newbuild and repaired/upgraded work on homes must be challenged urgently and with increased strength.

― Compulsory Sales Orders and Existing Use Land sales can be used to free up land for public housing development and prevent land being banked for price speculation.

― A National Housing Company must be created to increase housing supply and increase the standard of newbuild housing.

― The Scottish National Investment Bank can fund a new generation of social housing but Scotland should also increase the use of alternative ownership models such as co-ownership and collective self-build projects.

― Houses in Scotland should be build to zero-carbon and passive energy standards but should also be designed to eliminate toxic or non-sustainable materials and materials that cannot be easily reused or recycled when the building reaches end-of-life.

― Scotland should increase wealth taxation to reduce wealth inequality across society.

― Too many houses are used essentially as capital investments which has led to house price inflation and unaffordable living for too many. Houses should, first and foremost, be a home.

Resource Address (URL)

https://commonweal.scot/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Housing-2040-Consultation-Re…

Keywords

Language English

Good Houses For All

Stephen Richard — Tue, 07 Sep 2021 08:08:35 +0000

Good Houses For All

Primary Author or Creator

Craig Dalzell

Stephen Richard Tue, 09/07/2021 - 09:08

Additional Author(s) / Creators

Common Weal

Date Published

Sun, 04/05/2020 - 12:00

Category

Social housing

Type of Resource

Policy Paper

Fast Facts

This paper presents a model for building an unlimited number of houses for social rent on a zero-subsidy basis using the Scottish National Investment Bank.

These houses would be built to extremely high standards of thermal efficiency and on a stable finance model ensuring costs to the tenant are far lower than the private market.

The case is made that this model could be used as a post-pandemic stimulus scheme which will reform and secure the housing and construction sector.

More details

― Scotland’s housing market should offer people a quality public rental option, whether for young professionals not ready to enter the mortgage market, lower income renters who have few good rental options or families at any point on the income scale who simply don’t want their lives dictated by mortgages. Public policy should also seek to constrain house price rises but also drive up the highest possible thermal performance for new build houses.

― Scotland also needs forms of stimulus after the Covid lockdown and public rental house building linked to an industrial strategy to create many more domestic supply chains can create that stimulus.

― There is a financing model which means this can be achieved at unlimited
scale without public subsidy, involving three steps:

Use ‘Land Value Capture’. At the moment the public buys land and pays
for it as if planning permission had already been granted – but planning
permission is a value added by the public sector and the public sector
can capture that value rather than give it away by buying land only at
its current use value and not its later value with planning permission.
Then borrow from the Scottish National Investment Bank over
mortgage-style periods of time (30 years) and spread the cost of the
borrowing over that period so that rents are low.
Finally, build in a proper maintenance budget so these remain high-
quality houses in perpetuity. It is also possible to sell off a limited
number of plots (for self build) and a small proportion of the houses.
This can give the public developers some additional budget to include
extra public infrastructure in new developments.

― To achieve this the Scottish National Investment Bank should be given
immediate dispensation to operate as a proper bank and local authorities
should open ‘lists’ for families who want to live in one of these houses.
Supply can then be allowed to meet demand.

― In the current market a three-bedroom family home would incur a monthly
cost in rent, heating and maintenance of about £1,400. A house built using
the above methodology would have a monthly rent, maintenance and
heating bill of only £820.

Resource Address (URL)

https://commonweal.scot/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Good-Houses-For-All.pdf

Keywords

Scottish National Investment Bank

Housing quality

House prices

Language English

Housing For A Better Nation

Stephen Richard — Wed, 18 Aug 2021 17:48:18 +0000

Housing For A Better Nation

Primary Author or Creator

Sarah Glynn

Stephen Richard Wed, 08/18/2021 - 18:48

Additional Author(s) / Creators

Common Weal

Alternative Published Date

August 2014

Category

Social housing

House ownership

Type of Resource

Policy Paper

Fast Facts

Good housing needs more than good housing policy: housing policy needs to be part of wider social changes towards a more equal, community-centred, environmentally sustainable society, but good housing policy can make an important contribution to those changes. Economic considerations remain key, but we need to transcend the destructive veneration of GDP.

This paper outlines a radically different approach to housing policy. It also looks at immediate improvements that will be steps on the way to more fundamental transformation.

More details

― The current focus on housing as speculation fails to provide the homes people need, pushes up housing costs, encourages bad design and short-termism, concentrates wealth among a small elite, and has brought economic crisis on a world scale.

― We need to move housing away from the market, and this means a major shift of focus towards social and environmental priorities.

― Various policies are outlined with the aim of moving housing policy away from satisfying “the market” and towards ensuring adequate housing provision.

― These include Land Value Taxes, expanded mortgage-to-rent schemes, better regulation of private renting and second homes, and better planning for Green New Deal quality housing.

― Housing policy is integral to the wider economy, so we must look beyond the moral imperative to the wider economic implications and the economic case for public investment.

Resource Address (URL)

https://commonweal.scot/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Housing-for-a-Better-Nation…

Keywords

Language English