Gypsy/Travellers in Scotland - A Comprehensive Analysis of the 2011 Census

7. Housing

In 2011 Gypsy/Travellers in Scotland, compared to the population as a whole, were:
- less likely to own their home;
- more likely to live in a caravan;
- more likely to live in overcrowded accommodation;
- more likely to have no central heating.

The following chapter on housing shows that Gypsy/Travellers were less likely than the population as a whole to own their home, more likely to live in a caravan, and in overcrowded accommodation.

Chart 29: Gypsy/Travellers by Tenure – all people in households aged 16 and over, Scotland, 2011^[19]

Chart 29 shows that Gypsy/Travellers were half as likely to own their homes compared to those in the population as a whole. Only a third (33 per cent) of Gypsy/Travellers owned their home compared to two thirds (67 per cent) of the general population.

Hence Gypsy/Travellers were twice as likely to live in rented accommodation, with two fifths (40 per cent) social renting compared to only one fifth (21 per cent) of the population as a whole.

Chart 30: Gypsy/Traveller households by Accommodation Type, All HRPs, Scotland, 2011

Chart 30 shows that a much higher percentage of Gypsy/Traveller households lived in a ‘caravan or other mobile or temporary structure’ – 14 per cent did so compared to less than one per cent of all households. Conversely, a lower proportion of Gypsy/Traveller households lived in houses or flats. Only 43 per cent of Gypsy/Travellers lived in a house compared to 63 per cent of the population as a whole.

Chart 31: Gypsy/Travellers by Landlord Type – all people in rented accommodation aged 16 and over, Scotland, 2011

Chart 31 shows that compared to the population as a whole a slightly higher proportion of Gypsy/Travellers aged 16 and over (who rented their accommodation) rented from a private landlord and a lower proportion rented from Housing Associations or Registered Social Landlords (RSL). Around 40 per cent of Gypsy/Travellers who rented their accommodation did so from a council compared to 35 per cent of the population.^[20]

Chart 32: Gypsy/Traveller households by Occupancy Rating^[21], Scotland, 2011

Chart 32 shows that Gypsy/Traveller households were more than twice as likely to be overcrowded - a quarter (24 per cent) of Gypsy/Traveller households were overcrowded compared to less than one tenth (9 per cent) of all households.

Gypsy/Travellers households were less likely to be under-occupied (i.e. have more rooms than the standard requirement) - only 44 per cent were under-occupied compared to two thirds (66 per cent) of all households.

Chart 33: Gypsy/Traveller households by type of Central Heating, Scotland, 2011

Chart 33 shows that Gypsy/Traveller households were more likely to have no central heating (5 per cent) than all households (2 per cent). They were also more likely to have ‘Electric Central Heating’ and ‘2 or more types of Central Heating’.

Only 62 per cent of Gypsy/Traveller households had gas central heating compared to 74 per cent of the population.