Ending joint tenancies: equality impact assessment

Key Findings – Tenants

Latest data indicates that around 35% of households in Scotland currently rent the home they live in from private landlords. This equates to around 341,000 households in the private rented sector (“PRS”)^[12].

There is no available data on the protected characteristics profile of tenants who are in joint tenancies in Scotland. We have therefore considered the available evidence in relation to each of the protected characteristics to inform our assessment. We recognise that the data available does not provide a complete picture of the experiences of those with protected characteristics. However, the EQIA has allowed the opportunity to consider the impact of this measure for these groups as fully as possible.

Age

According to the Scottish Surveys Core Questions 2022^[13], 25.5% of those living in the PRS are 16-24, 35.3% are 25-34, 15.5% are 35-44, 10% are 45-54, 6.8% are aged 55-64, and 6.9% are 65 and above.

Scottish Government data on Poverty and Income Inequality in Scotland shows that in the last 15 years, the youngest households (household heads aged 16-24) have been consistently more likely to be in relative poverty compared to older households. In the period 2020-23, 39% of people in households with household heads aged 16-24 were in relative poverty after housing. In comparison, the age groups 25-34, 35-44, 45-54 and 55-64 all had lower poverty rates between 17% and 23%^[14].

Analysis of the New Deal for Tenants: Draft Rented Sector Strategy consultation^[15] indicated that changing the process by which a joint tenancy is ended under the private residential tenancy would be particularly helpful for students, who tend to be a highly mobile population that can find their personal circumstances changing at short notice. It was reported that there are regular instances where students are prevented from ending a joint tenancy even when they have experienced harassment or bullying from flatmates.

According to the UK-wide National Student Accommodation Strategy 2023, 46% of students rent from a private landlord which means that almost half of the student population relies on the PRS sector for accommodation^[16]. Evidence also suggests that the majority of students in Scotland are young people under the age of 25. In 2021-22, 40% of people at university full-time were aged 20 or under, while 55% of full-time students studying a first degree were aged 20 or under. Amongst all full-time students in Scotland, a further 35% were aged 21-24 years and 13% were aged 25-29 years. When it comes to the proportion of Scottish-domiciled students, 48% of people at university full time were 20 years or under; 29% of people were 21-24 years; 10% were aged 25-29 and 13% were aged 30 years and over^[17].

Disability

According to the Scottish Surveys Core Questions 2022^[18], the proportion of adults in the PRS who have a limiting long-term physical or mental health condition was and 23.2%.

According to evidence compiled from multiple sources for a 2022 Scottish Government analytical paper on the cost of living^[19]:

“[h]ouseholds with one or more disabled people are more likely to be in poverty. 23% of people in households with a disabled household member were in relative poverty after housing costs in 2017-20, compared to 17% of people with no disabled household members. The percentage of net income spent on housing, fuel and food is higher for households with a disabled household head. Food insecurity is also more common among adults with a limiting longstanding illness (18%). Disabled people often use more energy, as many need to keep heating on for medical reasons, or use electricity to charge essential equipment such as mobility aids. Many disabled people have needs which mean that economising on energy can bring severe hardship.”

While there is no information relating to disability for those tenants who enter into a joint tenancy to advance equality of opportunity any guidance on the new rights or existing legislation should use more straightforward language, explanations, concepts and include images as well as text.

Sex (including pregnancy and maternity)

Experiences of renting can have a gendered dimension. According to the Scottish Core Questions 2022^[20], an estimated 50.2% of those in the PRS are women. Women earn less on average than men^[21], are less likely to be paid the Living Wage^[22] and are more likely to not be working due to looking after children or home^[23]. This may lead to women having a lower independent income. Whilst there may be income pooling within a couple with a high-income and low-income earner, there will be an unequal reliance on the sharing of income to maintain their standard of living^[24].

The Wealth in Scotland^[25] report also shows that women are less likely to own property than men^[26], and lone parents (of whom 92% in Scotland are women) and working aged women with no children are the least likely groups to own any property.

The 2022 CaCHE/JRF^[27] survey of 1,012 private renters in Scotland found that a higher proportion of women reported worry about affording other essentials in comparison to male renters^[28].

Whilst a precise gender breakdown is not available for other household types on Housing Benefit or for households receiving the housing element of Universal Credit, the available data suggests that it is likely that women in Scotland are overall more likely to be in receipt of Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit than men^[29].

Over recent years, evidence shows that households with children under one are at a heightened risk of poverty, and that families with a new child are more likely to enter poverty, even when controlling for other factors^[30]. Evidence from a recent focus report on poverty and households with babies^[31] suggests that new mothers found Universal Credit payments helped to relieve housing costs by covering their rent, however most of the interviewees were in social housing and it was suggested that private rented accommodation is unaffordable. Many within the study mentioned that having a baby prompted a change in housing; often moving out of pre-pregnancy housing to avoid overcrowding. While rental costs were not a prominent concern, mothers highlighted the challenges of securing homes which suit their family's needs.

Women are more likely than men to become homeless from private rented tenancies^[32], violent household dispute is the most common reason for women applying for statutory homelessness assistance. It is acknowledged that the scale of domestic abuse is still under-represented in homelessness applications, as many women will not disclose domestic abuse when applying for assistance.

While there is no specific data on pregnancy and maternity, 51% of all single adult female households where the main reason was a violent or abusive dispute were single parent households in 2022-23. This compares to 42% overall^[33].

Where there is a joint tenancy or mortgage the woman may leave the home but retain her legal obligation for any debt outstanding. Where this occurs, this situation will clearly constrain the choices and ability to obtain an independent tenancy of her own^[34].

The reform to how a joint tenancy is ended will have a positive effect on both sexes, however, particularly so for those who experience domestic abuse with tenancies being used as a means of financial control. Evidence shows that women (and their children) are more likely to experience domestic abuse and may therefore particularly benefit from this measure

Gender reassignment

Data around the prevalence and experiences of trans people in the Scottish private rental sector are limited. We do not have reliable estimates for the number of trans or non-binary people in Scotland at present, including those living specifically within the PRS, however as the next section will detail, there is evidence that other members of the LGBTI community are more likely to live in the PRS and within urban areas in Scotland.

Reported findings from a 2022 UK study of housing discrimination^[35] by Generation Rent and LGBTI homelessness organisation “akt” found that 43% of LGBTI respondents reported that they had been forced to live in unsuitable accommodation, compared with 29% of non-LGBTI participants. Insecurity and accessibility to affordable homes in the private rental market was raised as also an issue. However, limited information about the study or its underlying data were available so it is unclear as to how robust or representative these findings are.

In a published response to the recent consultation on A Human Rights Bill for Scotland^[36], the Equality Network cited (yet unpublished) data from a survey undertaken by Scottish Trans which ran from March–June 2023 and surveyed 575 trans and non-binary people from across Scotland about their experiences of housing and the cost-of-living, among other topics. The findings report experiences of discrimination by private landlords, housing insecurity, and in the case of trans respondents, the cost of living crisis causing respondents to have to make choices between necessities and gender affirming purchases. Detail of survey results and methodology were not yet available for assessment at the time of drafting so it is not possible to comment on the robustness of these findings.

The consultation response also expressed that trans people may experience an additional layer of difficulty when seeking benefits via the Department of Work and Pensions due to administrative issues arising from either not having a GRC (gender recognition card), or due to issues caused by current and previous details such as names no longer matching on the system. According to the UK Government’s national LGBT Survey Report (2018)^[37], only 12% of the trans men and trans women respondents who had either started or finished transitioning had obtained a GRC.

A 2018 report by Stonewall^[38] reported that more than a quarter of trans people (28%) in a relationship in the last year have faced domestic abuse from a partner.

The report also states that one in four trans people (25%) were discriminated against when looking for a house or flat to rent or buy in the last year. The same proportion had also experienced homelessness at some point in their lives, while one in five non-binary people (20%) had experienced discrimination while looking for a new home.

Based on the information available this measure will be support all joint tenants who are unable to leave a joint tenancy but may be particularly beneficial where trans people are experiencing a relationship breakdown to no longer allow an abusive partner to continue to exert control and perpetrate abuse when they are no longer living together.

Sexual orientation

We are unaware of any relevant and existing evidence, at this time, on sexual orientation in relation to tenants who are more likely to enter into a joint tenancy.

The available evidence suggests that more cis lesbian, gay and bisexual people privately rent: people living in the PRS are more likely to identify as either ‘lesbian, gay, bisexual or other’ (LGB) than the population as a whole: 6.9% compared to 2.9%^[39].

A 2021 report by the Scottish Government on inclusivity in rural areas^[40] which drew on multiple data sources found that there is a higher prevalence of lesbian, gay, bisexual or ‘other’ people in urban areas, which may partially reflect experiences of LGBTI people of having moved to a different area due to their experiences as LGBTI.

Poverty and income inequality analysis data suggests the poverty rate has been consistently higher for LGBTI adults compared to straight/heterosexual adults. In the period 2020-2023 it is estimated that 25% of those identifying as LGB+ were in relative poverty after housing costs, compared to 19% of straight adults^[41]. However, it should be noted that the analysis flags that there were too few LGB+ identifying adults in poverty in the sample to produce a robust estimate of their population and measurement uncertainty is quite wide for this group.

Based on the information available we found that there is no negative or positive impact, on eliminating unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation related to sexual orientation.

Race

Recent data from the Scottish Surveys Core Questions 2022^[42] indicate that just over half (52.3%) of adult respondents in the PRS recorded their ethnicity as ‘White: Scottish’, lower than all other tenures, and 16.5% recorded their ethnicity as White: British, and 2.5% as White: Polish. 6.8% recorded their ethnicity as White 'Other'^[43] and 15.6% recorded their ethnicity as Asian^[44], figures which are both higher than other tenures. All other ethnic groups make up 6.1% of the PRS^[45].

A Scottish Government analytical paper^[46] drawing together evidence about cost of living found that:

“[m]inority ethnic groups are significantly more likely to live in larger households^[47], to be unpaid carers and live in private rented accommodation. Minority ethnic households are also more likely to have deeper levels of poverty^[48] and so a greater proportion of their income is likely to be spent on essentials which are subject to inflation.”

As noted in a 2020 report of the Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights^[49], within Scotland, black and minority ethnic (“BME”) groups are demographically younger than white ethnic groups. According to the 2011 Census, those identifying as white are most likely to be aged 45-59, whereas as BME groups are largely younger in profile (most likely to be aged 25-34) – with the exception of Caribbean or Black where it is 35-44. However, although there is evidence to suggest that younger people in Scotland may find themselves in the PRS due to a lack of other options (often referred to as the ‘generation rent’ phenomena), there is a lack of evidence about how this applies to BME communities in Scotland.

A Scottish Government evidence review of the housing needs of minority ethnic groups^[50] sought to uncover trends in housing for minority ethnic groups. The review found that multiple trends in housing for minority ethnic groups were present across the literature including those identified above. People from minority ethnic groups were more likely to be living in relative poverty after housing costs than people from the white Scottish/British group which is still the case^[51], and some ethnic groups such as ‘African’, ‘White: Polish’ and the ‘Other ethnic’ group, were much more likely to be living in some of the most deprived areas in Scotland.

The review also notes that it remains a partial view and that gaps in the data exist, given that the available evidence on the demographic and geographic profile of the population is often dated or limited in terms of sample size, and that this restricts the insight offered by the available evidence.

Research undertaken as part of the RentBetter Project in 2020^[52] found that, of the non-white minority ethnic PRS tenants in Scotland sampled, just over a third found it difficult to find a place to rent, compared to one-fifth of all tenants in the sample. For non-white minority ethnic tenants, this difficulty in finding a place to rent was more commonly attributed to affordability or being on benefits than for other tenants^[53]. This research also found that found that tenants from non-white minority ethnic groups were still less likely to feel confident in challenging their landlord and dealing with disputes compared to their white counterparts.

The 2021 Scottish Government evidence review^[54] noted that some families may choose to live in the PRS due to fear of discrimination or lack of culturally appropriate accommodation within the social sector, however:

“[s]ome studies presented a more complex view of over-representation in the PRS, where minority ethnic families chose to rent privately for the greater flexibility and choice it offered compared to other tenures, suggesting a more positive image of the sector (Netto & Abazie 2012; Strachan & Donoghue 2009). For some participants, the sector was seen as an attractive alternative to the social rented sector in terms of greater choice of properties and more attractive neighbourhoods for families (Netto & Abazie 2012), allowing them to live nearer to places of worship and other amenities such as halal shops and cultural centres (Netto et al. 2011).”

The Scottish Government evidence review^[55] found that for minority ethnic women, isolation, language difficulties and experiences of racism, may increase their risk of experiencing homelessness or prevent them from escaping domestic abuse.

The reform to how a joint tenancy is ended be beneficial for all joint tenants including those from different ethnic backgrounds, allowing tenants to end their interest in a tenancy where other joint tenants are refusing to bring the tenancy to an end as a result of relationship breakdown. Asian households most likely to experience homelessness as a result of violent household disputes^[56].

While there is no information relating to race for those tenants who enter into a joint tenancy, to advance equality of opportunity any guidance on the new rights or existing legislation should use a range of appropriate, accessible and inclusive means and methods, including internet and social media to advance equality of opportunity by maximising understanding of changes.

Religion or belief

We are unaware of any relevant and existing evidence, at this time, on religion or belief in relation to tenants who are more likely to enter into a joint tenancy.

According to the Scottish Surveys Core Questions 2022^[57], the most common religious designation across all housing tenures is ‘no religion’. People who live in the PRS and social rented sector are more likely to identify as being 'Muslim' or ‘other religion’^[58] compared to those who own their homes outright and those who own their homes with a mortgage.

In the period 2018-2023, Muslim adults and adults identifying as ‘other religion’ were more likely to be in relative poverty (61% and 31% respectively) than adults overall (19%) and adults belonging to the Church of Scotland (16%), after housing costs were taken into account^[59].

Based on the information available we found that there is no negative or positive impact related to religion or belief, but the measure will support all tenants including those of different religions and beliefs.