Scotland's People Annual report: Results from 2009/2010 Scottish Household Survey

3 Housing

Introduction and Context

The Scottish Government's vision for the future of housing includes an increased supply of housing across all tenures, more choice of affordable housing, and housing developments that contribute to the creation of sustainable mixed communities. ^[27] While the Scottish House Condition Survey ( SHCS) ^[28] is the primary source of information about the physical condition of housing in Scotland, the Scottish Household Survey ( SHS) also includes some questions on housing which are used to explore the relationships between living circumstances and the characteristics, attitudes and behaviours of Scottish households.

This chapter presents some basic information on housing tenure in Scotland, including changes over the past decade and how tenure varies with household type, rurality and deprivation. It also looks at the changing nature of housing tenure based on the length of time people have lived at their current address.

Housing Tenure

The last 50 years have seen a substantial change in housing tenure in Scotland. Historically, there has been a marked increase in the proportion of owner-occupier households, from a quarter in 1961 ^[29] to around two thirds in recent years (65% in 2010) (Table 3.1) although this has reduced slightly from 66% in 2009. This was mirrored in the decline of the private and social rented sector, which in 1961 accounted for 34% and 41% of households respectively.

Reflecting changes in cultural attitudes toward home ownership, two structural factors have contributed to this shift: the introduction of the right to buy for public authority tenants in 1979 coupled with the decline of public authority new build, and the increased contribution of private sector building.

The more recent SHS data, from 2005 through to 2010, give some indication that the rising trend in relation to owner-occupation may be levelling out to some extent, possibly in part due to increasing pressure in the housing market. While the private rented sector has shown small but consistent growth from 5% in 1999 to 11% in 2010, this has been mirrored through a decline in the social rented sector (32% to 23%).

Table 3.1: Tenure of household by year
Column percentages, 1999-2010 data

The decline in social housing has been accompanied by substantial changes in the profile of its tenants. Data from the Scottish Census show that in 1981, the profile of social sector tenants was similar to the profile of households in society generally in terms of their size, composition, and social and economic characteristics. This is no longer the case and tenure patterns show marked differences by household type, reflecting differences in life stage and household circumstances (Table 3.2). ^[30]

Owner occupation is the predominant tenure for most household types, the notable exception being for single parent households (33%) and, to a somewhat lesser extent, single adult households (49%). Almost half of single parent households are in social housing (48%), which is the predominant tenure for this group. Single adult and pensioner households are both also somewhat overrepresented in the social sector relative to other groups.

Table 3.2: Tenure of household by household type
Column percentages, 2009/2010 data

The patterns highlighted above reflect to some extent differences in access to resources. Young adults in the early stages of their working lives are more likely to move around more often, whilst single parents and pensioners may likely be more static in their housing usage.

There is a strong geographic component to the changing profile of the social housing sector and a link with deprivation. The 15% most deprived areas ^[31] are characterised by high concentrations of social housing (Table 3.3), with over half (54%) of households in the social rented sector; compared to 22% overall - both of which are a slight decrease on the 2007/2008 estimates of 57% and 23% respectively. More generally, there is a consistent and marked linear relationship between levels of social sector renting and deprivation. ^[32]

Table 3.3: Tenure of household by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation
Column percentages, 2009/2010 data

Tenure also varies between urban and rural areas, although this is somewhat less marked (Table 3.4). Levels of owner-occupation are higher in rural areas and accessible small towns, the former due to the relatively small social rented sector in rural areas, while the latter reflects in part urban workers moving out of high pressure housing markets to more affordable areas. Private renting is somewhat more common in large urban areas (14%, compared to 11% overall).

Table 3.4: Tenure of household by Urban Rural Classification
Column percentages, 2009/2010 data

Table 3.5 shows that those adults who have lived at their current address for less than one year are typically those from the private rented sector (49%). Those living within the social rented sector show comparatively similar levels up to 10 years living at their current address (around one in five), though this then drops off somewhat to 16% for those living there for more than 10 years. As expected, those in owner occupied households are more likely to live at the same address for much longer; two-thirds of those living at their current address for between three and four years are in owner occupied households, increasing to 80% for those residing at the same address for more than 10 years.

Table 3.5: Tenure of household by how long lived at current address
Column percentages, 2009/2010 data