Scottish household survey 2016: annual report

3 Housing

Main Findings

The total number of households in Scotland has increased by 12 per cent from 2.19 million households in 1999 to 2.45 million households in 2016. This means that a specific tenure can have reduced in relative proportion but increased in absolute size.

Housing Tenure from 1999 to 2016

The proportion of households in the private rented sector has grown steadily from 5 per cent in 1999 to 15 per cent in 2016, an estimated increase of 250,000 households.

The percentage of households in the social rented sector declined from 32 per cent in 1999 to 23 per cent in 2007, an estimated drop of 150,000 households, and has remained at around 23 per cent of all households since then.

The percentage of households in owner occupation grew from 61 per cent in 1999 to 66 per cent in 2005, but then declined by an estimated 90,000 households between 2009 and 2014 to 60 per cent. The level was around the same in 2015 and 2016 at 61 per cent.

Characteristics of households by tenure, 2016

Owned-outright properties (estimated 780,000 households):

Most properties were houses (82 per cent).

Nearly three quarters (72 per cent) of households had a highest-income householder aged 60 and over.

Half of adults in these properties have lived at their address for more than 20 years.

The vast majority (85 per cent) of adults in these properties did not expect to move from their current property in the future.

Properties owned with a mortgage or loan (estimated 720,000 households):

Thirty seven per cent of households contained children.

Adults in properties owned with a mortgage or loan were more likely to be employed (80 per cent) than adults in other tenures.

Over eight in ten (83 per cent) households had a net income of more than £20,000.

Private rented properties (estimated 370,000 households):

Sixty seven per cent of properties were flats and 46 per cent were located in large urban areas.

Over six in ten (62 per cent) of households contained one or two adults under 65 with no children.

Forty one per cent of adults in these properties had been at their address for less than one year.

Social rented properties (local authority and housing association properties) (estimated 560,000 households):

Around half (52 per cent) of local authority properties were flats. Thirty seven per cent of properties were located in the 20 per cent most deprived areas.

A little under two-thirds (62 per cent) of housing association properties were flats. Over half (56 per cent) of properties were located in the 20 per cent most deprived areas and 55 per cent were located in large urban areas.

Thirteen per cent of adults in social rented properties were permanently sick or disabled, and a further 9 per cent were unemployed and seeking work.

Over four in ten (44 per cent) of households in social rented accommodation stated that they would most like to live in an owner occupier property, with around half (49 per cent) preferring to live in social rented accommodation.

Households on housing lists:

An estimated 110,000 (4 per cent) of households were on a housing list in 2016, a decrease compared with an estimated 130,000 (5 per cent) of households in 2015.

Of households on a housing list in 2016, almost three quarters (72 per cent) were on a single list and over half (53 per cent) had been on a housing list for 3 years or less.

For around a quarter (24 per cent) of social rented households on a housing list, the main reason for being on a list was to move to bigger or smaller property. The main reason for private rented households was that they cannot afford current housing or would like cheaper housing (identified by 31 per cent of private rented households on a housing list).

3.1 Introduction and Context

The Scottish Government's vision for housing is that ‘All people in Scotland live in high quality sustainable homes that they can afford and that meet their needs’ ^[23] . While the Scottish House Condition Survey ( SHCS) ^[24] is the primary source of information about the physical condition of housing in Scotland, the Scottish Household Survey ( SHS) also includes many useful questions on housing which can be used to explore the relationships between living circumstances and the characteristics, attitudes and behaviours of Scottish households.

This chapter presents information on changes to housing tenure in Scotland between 1999 and 2016, along with tenure profiles for 2016 that provide information on characteristics of households by type of tenure.

The SHS has included a question since 2013 on whether a household is on a housing list, and therefore headline analysis on this is also presented. These estimates provide additional evidence on the proportion and number of households that are on housing lists and complement existing sources, such as the Housing Statistics for Scotland ( HSfS) publication ^[25] , which was published on 12 September 2017 and included statistics on the number of households on a local authority or common housing list up to 31 March 2016.

3.2 Housing Tenure

• The proportion of households in the private rented sector has grown steadily from 5 per cent in 1999 to 15 per cent in 2016, an estimated increase of 250,000 households.
• The percentage of households in the social rented sector declined from 32 per cent in 1999 to 23 per cent in 2007, an estimated drop of 150,000 households, and has remained at around 23 per cent of all households since then.
• The percentage of households in owner occupation grew from 61 per cent in 1999 to 66 per cent in 2005, but then declined by an estimated 90,000 households between 2009 and 2014 to 60 per cent. The level was around the same in 2015 and 2016 at 61 per cent.

All figures presented in this section on proportions of households in different tenures should be considered in the context of changes over time to the total number of dwellings in Scotland. The number of dwellings in Scotland has increased from 1.77 million in 1969 to 2.58 million in 2016, an increase of 46 per cent over this time period.

This means that a reporting of a decrease over time in the percentage share of a specific group of households does not necessarily mean that this group has reduced in terms of absolute size. Some groups of households may have maintained or increased their absolute size whilst their proportionate share of the total has reduced.

There has been a substantial change in the profile of housing tenure in Scotland since the 1960s. The long-term trend has been a marked increase in the proportion of owner-occupier households, from around 30 per cent in 1969 ^[26] to 66 per cent in 2005, although this percentage then dropped to 60 per cent in 2014, and in 2016 was around the same level at 61 per cent.

This long-term increase has been mirrored over this time period by the decline in the percentage of households in the social rented sector, which in 1969 accounted for around 50 per cent of households compared to 23 per cent in 2015 and 2016. The proportion of households in the private rented sector also decreased from around 20 per cent in 1969 to 5 per cent in 1999, before increasing to 15 per cent in 2016.

The percentage of households in owner occupation grew from 61 per cent in 1999 to 66 per cent in 2005 (an estimated 12 per cent increase in absolute numbers of households), but declined since 2009 to stand at 60 per cent in 2014 (an estimated 6 per cent decrease in absolute numbers of households), and stayed at around the same level to 2016 (an estimated 2 per cent increase in absolute numbers of households). The increase in total numbers of dwellings in Scotland from 1999 to 2016 means that there are more owner occupier properties in 2016 in terms of absolute numbers (1.49 million households) than there were in 1999 (1.34 million households).

The decrease in the share of owner occupier households between 2009 and 2014 was driven by a decline in the percentage of households owning their property with a mortgage or loan, from 39 per cent of all households in 2003 to 30 per cent of all households in 2014, after which the figure has remained at similar levels and was 29 per cent in 2016. The proportion of all households owning outright increased steadily from 22 per cent in 1999 to 30 per cent in 2007, a level at which it has remained since then, with a similar figure of 32 per cent seen in 2016.

Figure 3.1: Tenure of household by year
1999-2016 data, Households (minimum base: 10,330)

Trends over the medium term have also seen an increase in the proportion of households in the private rented sector, from 5 per cent in 1999 to 15 per cent in 2016 (an estimated 208 per cent increase in absolute numbers of households). The breakdown of the private rented sector into component parts of households renting from private landlord and households renting from family/friends/employers is available from 2009 onwards.

This shows that the increase in the private rented sector since 2009 has been largely due to growth in the private landlord element of the sector, which has increased from 8 per cent to 13 per cent of all households, whilst the family/friends/employer part of the sector has remained flat at 2 per cent of all households for most of these years.

The percentage of households in the social rented sector has declined from 32 per cent in 1999 to 23 per cent in 2007 (a 22 per cent drop in estimated numbers of households). The social sector has remained at around 23 per cent of all households for most years since then.

Table 3.1: Households by tenure and year
Column percentages and estimates, 1999-2016 data

	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
Owner Occupier	61	62	64	65	65	64	66	65	66	66	66	65	64	63	61	60	61	61
Owned outright	22	24	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	30	30	30	30	31	30	30	31	32
Buying with help of loan/mortgage	39	38	39	39	39	37	38	37	36	36	36	35	34	32	32	30	30	29
Social Rent	32	30	28	28	26	27	25	25	23	23	22	23	23	23	23	24	23	23
Local authority	27	25	23	22	20	19	17	17	16	15	14	14	15	13	14	14	13	13
Housing association / Co-op / Charitable trust	5	5	5	6	6	8	7	8	8	8	8	9	9	9	9	10	10	10
Private Rented	5	6	6	6	6	7	8	8	9	9	10	11	11	13	13	14	14	15
Private landlord	5	6	6	6	6	7	8	8	9	9	8	9	10	11	11	12	13	13
Family/Friends/Employer	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	2	1	2	2	2	2	2
Other	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	1	1
All	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100
Base	14,680	15,550	15,570	15,070	14,880	15,940	15,400	15,620	13,410	13,810	14,190	14,210	14,360	10,640	10,650	10,630	10,330	10,470
	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
Owner Occupier	1,340,000	1,380,000	1,400,000	1,430,000	1,460,000	1,450,000	1,500,000	1,500,000	1,520,000	1,540,000	1,550,000	1,530,000	1,520,000	1,490,000	1,470,000	1,460,000	1,480,000	1,490,000
Owned outright	490,000	530,000	530,000	560,000	590,000	610,000	630,000	660,000	690,000	700,000	700,000	710,000	710,000	730,000	710,000	730,000	760,000	780,000
Buying with help of loan/mortgage	850,000	850,000	860,000	870,000	870,000	840,000	860,000	840,000	840,000	840,000	850,000	830,000	810,000	760,000	760,000	730,000	720,000	720,000
Social Rent	690,000	660,000	620,000	610,000	590,000	600,000	560,000	570,000	540,000	550,000	520,000	540,000	550,000	540,000	560,000	590,000	570,000	560,000
Local authority	580,000	550,000	500,000	490,000	450,000	420,000	390,000	390,000	370,000	350,000	330,000	330,000	350,000	320,000	330,000	330,000	320,000	320,000
Housing association / Co-op / Charitable trust	110,000	110,000	120,000	120,000	140,000	170,000	170,000	180,000	180,000	200,000	190,000	200,000	210,000	220,000	230,000	250,000	240,000	250,000
Private Rented	120,000	120,000	140,000	140,000	140,000	160,000	170,000	180,000	210,000	210,000	240,000	260,000	270,000	320,000	320,000	330,000	350,000	370,000
Private landlord	120,000	120,000	140,000	140,000	140,000	160,000	170,000	180,000	210,000	210,000	190,000	220,000	230,000	270,000	270,000	290,000	310,000	320,000
Family/Friends/Employer	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	50,000	40,000	30,000	40,000	50,000	40,000	40,000	50,000
Other	40,000	40,000	40,000	40,000	40,000	50,000	40,000	50,000	40,000	40,000	40,000	40,000	40,000	40,000	50,000	40,000	30,000	30,000
All*	2,186,100	2,203,160	2,194,564	2,211,430	2,230,797	2,251,262	2,274,283	2,295,185	2,318,966	2,337,967	2,351,780	2,364,850	2,376,424	2,387,211	2,401,788	2,418,335	2,433,956	2,451,869

Note that these estimates differ to the estimated stock of dwellings by tenure figures presented in annual Housing Statistics for Scotland publications. Housing Statistics for Scotland estimates focus on the number of dwellings each year as at March and use separately collected figures on social rent stock.
* Household estimates are from National Records of Scotland. The 1999 and 2000 estimates are based on 2001 census data, all other years are based on 2011 census data. http://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/statistics-and-data/statistics/statistics-by-theme/housholds/household-estimates

Age group of the highest income householder

• The proportion of households with a highest earner of age 60 and over has risen gradually from 32 per cent in 1999 to 36 per cent in 2016.
• The proportion of households with a highest earner of age 16 to 34 years fell from 22 per cent in 1999 to 19 per cent in 2003, and has remained around this level since then, being 20 per cent in 2016.

Figure 3.2 shows the trends from 1999 to 2016 in the proportions of households split by age group of the highest income householder. The proportion of households with a highest earner of age 16 to 34 years fell from 22 per cent in 1999 to 19 per cent in 2003, and has remained around this level since then, being 20 per cent in 2016. The percentage of households with a highest earner of age 35 to 59 years increased from 45 per cent in 1999 to 48 per cent in 2003, but has since fallen back to 45 per cent in 2015, where it remained in 2016. The proportion of households with a highest earner of age 60 and over has risen gradually from 32 per cent in 1999 to 36 per cent in 2016.

The small fall in the percentage of households aged 16 to 34 years between 1999 and 2016 may be a result of overall demographic population changes, for example an aging of the general population, but might also be a result of some younger people remaining within family homes rather than moving to their own property. Separate Census data on household composition ^[27] shows that the percentage of people aged 20 to 34 living with their parents increased by 2.2 per cent percentage points between 2001 (23.7 per cent) and 2011 (25.9 per cent).

Figure 3.2: Households by age of highest income householder, 1999 to 2016
1999-2016 data, Households (minimum base: 10,330)

Age and tenure of households

• The proportion of households with a highest earner of age 16 to 34 owning their property with a mortgage increased in the latest year from 28 per cent in 2015 to 33 per cent in 2016, which may reflect the wider availability of high loan to value mortgages in recent years, compared with the post-financial crisis period.
• This annual increase follows a longer term drop in owning with a mortgage for this age group, from 50 per cent in 2003 to 28 per cent in 2014.

For households with a highest income householder aged between 16 and 34 years, the percentage living in the private rented sector increased substantially from 1999 (13 per cent) to 2015 (41 per cent), before remaining at a similar level of 40 per cent in 2016 ( Figure 3.3). The percentage of households in properties owned with a mortgage fell from 50 per cent in 2003 to 28 per cent in 2014, after which the proportion stayed at a similar level in 2015 before increasing to 33 per cent in 2016. Sixty-two per cent of households in 2016 were living in a rented property (either social rented or private rented), a drop from 66 per cent in the previous year 2015.

The increase in the proportion of 16 to 34 year old households owning with a mortgage in 2016 may reflect the wider availability of high loan to value mortgages in recent years, compared with the post-financial crisis period. Data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders show that the average loan to value ratio on loans for house purchase by first time buyers in Scotland reached 85 per cent in 2016, up from 75 per cent in 2009, while the number of such loans totalled 31,400 in 2016, a 6 per cent increase compared to 2015, and up by 77 per cent from the post-financial crisis low in 2010 ^[28] .

Figure 3.3: Tenure of households by year (HIH aged 16 to 34)
1999-2016 data, Households (minimum base: 1,700)

Households in which the age of the highest income earner is between 35 and 59 years ( Figure 3.4) have also seen a rise in the percentage renting in the private sector, from 4 per cent in 1999 to 12 per cent in 2016. The proportion owning with a loan or mortgage has correspondingly dropped from 54 per cent in 1999 to 45 per cent in 2016.

Figure 3.4: Tenure of households by year ( HIH aged 35 to 59)
1999-2016 data, Households (minimum base: 4,640)

Households in which the age of the highest income earner is 60 years or over have seen a rise in the percentage who own outright, from 46 per cent in 1999 to 63 per cent in 2012 ( Figure 3.5). There has been a corresponding drop in the proportion renting a social sector property from 39 per cent in 1999 to 22 per cent in 2012, after which the proportion has stayed at similar levels.

Figure 3.5: Tenure of households by year ( HIH aged 60 plus)
1999-2016 data, Households (minimum base: 3,980)

3.3 Characteristics of Households by Tenure

• Household characteristics in 2016 show some marked differences by tenure.
• Most (82 per cent) of owned outright properties were houses, and nearly three quarters (72 per cent) of owned outright households had a highest-income householder over the age of 60.
• For households buying properties with a mortgage, 37 per cent contained children, and 80 per cent had an adult who was employed, a figure higher than other tenures.
• Sixty seven per cent of private rented properties were flats and 46 per cent were located in large urban areas. Forty one per cent of adults in private rented properties had been at their address for less than one year.
• Thirteen per cent of adults in social rented properties were permanently sick or disabled, and a further nine per cent were unemployed and seeking work.

The long-term decline in the percentage of social housing has been accompanied by substantial changes in the profile of its tenants. Data from the Scottish Census ^[29] show that in 1981 the profile of social sector tenants was similar to the profile of all Scottish households in terms of size, composition, and social and economic characteristics. This is no longer the case and household characteristics in 2016 show some marked differences by tenure.

Table 3.2, Table 3.3, Table 3.4, Table 3.5, Table 3.6 and Table 3.7 explore these differences in characteristics for 2016 in more depth across all main tenure categories.

Table 3.2 focuses on housing characteristics for the year 2016 such as dwelling type, location (urban/rural and index of multiple deprivation) as well as size of property as measured by the numbers of bedrooms.

Owned outright properties are much more likely to be houses (82 per cent) than flats (17 per cent). Half (50 per cent) of properties owned outright are located in the 40 per cent least deprived areas of Scotland, while only 12 per cent are in the 20 per cent most deprived areas. Only five per cent of properties owned outright have one bedroom, with nearly two-thirds (64 per cent) of properties having three or more bedrooms.

Properties owned with a mortgage or loan have a similar profile to properties owned outright, although they are marginally more likely to be flats, located in large urban areas and in the 20 per cent most deprived areas. In contrast to owner occupied properties, private rented properties are more likely to be flats (67 per cent) than houses (33 per cent), and they are generally much smaller – one in five (24 per cent) have one bedroom and a little under half (47 per cent) have two bedrooms. Eighty-seven per cent of private rented properties are located in urban areas (this includes small towns).

There are slightly more local authority flats (52 per cent) than houses (47 per cent). Thirty seven per cent of local authority properties are located in the 20 per cent most deprived areas of Scotland, while 44 per cent are located in ‘other’ (i.e. not large) urban areas.

Housing association properties have a broadly similar profile to private rented properties in terms of dwelling type (62 per cent are flats). However, they are more likely than any other tenure to be located in the 20 per cent most deprived areas (56 per cent) and to have one bedroom (30 per cent).

Table 3.2: Housing characteristics by tenure
Column percentages, 2016 data

	Owner Occupier				Social Rent
	Owned outright	Buying with help of loan/mortgage	All	Private Rent	Local authority	Housing association / Co-op / Charitable trust	All	Other	All
Proportional sizes of sectors	32	29	61	15	13	10	23	1	100
Dwelling type
House	82	78	80	33	47	37	43	70	64
Flat	17	22	20	67	52	62	56	30	35
Other	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	-	0
SIMD16
1 - Most Deprived	12	14	13	20	37	56	46	24	22
2	17	18	18	22	36	20	29	8	21
3	21	20	21	22	17	13	15	31	20
4	24	23	23	19	8	7	8	26	19
5 - Least Deprived	27	25	26	17	2	3	2	12	19
Urban / Rural Classification
Large urban areas	30	35	32	46	27	55	39	23	36
Other urban areas	33	37	35	31	44	28	37	28	35
Accessible small towns	10	9	10	7	10	6	8	8	9
Remote small towns	4	3	4	3	5	4	4	1	4
Accessible rural	14	12	13	8	10	4	7	20	11
Remote rural	8	4	7	4	4	4	4	19	6
Number of bedrooms
1 bedroom	5	5	5	24	25	30	27	15	13
2 bedrooms	31	28	30	47	48	46	47	39	36
3 bedrooms	44	41	43	23	25	20	23	35	35
4+ bedrooms	20	26	23	6	3	4	3	11	16
Base	3,650	2,920	6,570	1,390	1,360	1,020	2,380	130	10,470

Table 3.3 provides information on household characteristics for the year 2016 such as number of people in the household, type of household composition, and number of cars.

Households who own outright have the biggest percentage of two-person households (49 per cent) across all main tenure types. Only 15 per cent of owned outright households have three or more people living in them. Correspondingly, households in this tenure are much more likely than other tenures to be older one-person (27 per cent) or older two-person (32 per cent) households. Eighty ^[30] per cent of households owning outright have at least one car. Almost three quarters (74 per cent) of owned-outright households state that they are managing very well or quite well financially, a figure higher than other tenures.

Households that own with a mortgage or loan have the highest proportion of three people (22 per cent) or four or more people (28 per cent) living in the household. Correspondingly, 37 per cent of these households have children. Over 90 per cent (91 per cent) of households that own with a mortgage or loan have at least one car and 83 per cent of households have a net household income of over £20,000, the highest of any tenure.

Sixty-two per cent of private renting households are either single adult households or small adult households. Forty-four per cent of private renting households do not have a car.

The profiles of households in local authority rented properties and those in housing association properties are similar. Social rented households are characterised by large percentages of one-person households (47 per cent), and correspondingly have a high proportion of single adult household compositions (30 per cent). Six in ten (59 per cent) of social sector households do not have a car, and almost half (47 per cent) have a net household income of £15,000 or less. Thirty-one per cent of social sector households state that they manage well financially, a figure lower than other tenures. Around one in five (19 per cent) state that they don’t manage well, a figure that is higher than other tenures.

Table 3.3: Household characteristics by tenure
Column percentages, 2016 data

	Owner Occupier				Social Rent
	Owned outright	Buying with help of loan/mortgage	All	Private Rent	Local authority	Housing association / Co-op / Charitable trust	All	Other	All
Proportional sizes of sectors	32	29	61	15	13	10	23	1	100
Number of people in household
1 person	36	19	28	39	47	48	47	50	34
2 people	49	32	40	35	27	25	26	33	36
3 people	9	22	15	14	13	15	14	10	15
4+ people	6	28	17	12	13	12	13	7	15
Household composition
Large adult	9	12	11	7	7	8	7	3	9
Large family	2	9	5	4	5	5	5	2	5
Older smaller	32	4	18	2	8	6	7	11	13
Single adult	11	18	14	35	29	30	30	26	21
Single parent	1	4	2	9	11	11	11	7	5
Single older	27	2	15	5	18	19	19	24	14
Small adult	16	27	21	27	12	13	12	19	20
Small family	3	25	14	11	10	9	9	8	12
Number of cars
0 cars	20	9	14	44	57	61	59	39	29
1 car	50	40	45	43	36	30	34	45	42
2+ cars	31	51	40	13	7	8	8	16	29
Net household income
£0-£6,000	2	1	2	4	3	3	3	7	2
£6,001-£10,000	11	2	7	7	14	17	15	12	9
£10,001-£15,000	17	5	11	18	28	30	29	24	16
£15,001-£20,000	14	7	11	17	22	19	20	18	14
£20,001 plus	50	83	66	49	30	27	29	34	54
Don't know/Refused	5	1	3	5	3	5	4	4	4
Base	3,650	2,920	6,570	1,390	1,360	1,020	2,380	130	10,470
How well household is managing financially*
Manages well	74	63	69	46	30	33	31	34	56
Gets by	24	31	28	43	52	48	50	52	36
Does not manage well	2	5	3	11	18	19	19	15	8
Base	3,620	2,900	6,520	1,380	1,350	1,010	2,350	130	10,380

*Excludes Don’t know / Refused responses. The “Manage well” category has been created by combining the response categories “Manages very well” and “Manages quite well”. The “Does not manage well” category has been created by combining the response categories “Does not manage very well”, “Has some financial difficulties” and “Is in deep financial trouble”.

Table 3.4 provides information on characteristics for the year 2016 such as age, ethnicity, length of tenure and tenure of previous address.

Adults in households who own outright tend to be older compared to other tenures, with 72 per cent having a highest income householder aged 60 years or more. Over half (55 per cent) of adults in owned-outright properties are estimated to be permanently retired from work, and half (50 per cent) have been in living in the same address for more than 20 years. Of the small proportion (3 per cent) of adults who have moved into their address within the previous year, it is estimated that nearly half (47 per cent) have moved from another owned-outright property.

Households owning with a mortgage or a loan are more likely to have a highest income householder of age 35 to 44 (27 per cent) or 45 to 59 (41 per cent) than any other tenure. Based on random adult householder interviews, adults in properties owned with a mortgage or loan were more likely to be employed ^[31] (80 per cent) than adults in other tenures. Of the 9 per cent of adults who have moved into their address in the previous year, an estimated 38 per cent moved from another property owned with a mortgage and a further 21 per cent moved from the private rented sector.

Households in private rented accommodation are more likely to have a highest income householder aged 16 to 24 (19 per cent) or 25 to 34 (34 per cent) than other tenures. An estimated 21 per cent of adults in the private rented sector are in school or further/higher education. Only 57 per cent have recorded their ethnicity as white Scottish, which is much lower than other tenures, while 41 per cent have been at their current address for less than one year, much higher than any other tenure. For those who have moved into their property in the last year, over half (55 per cent) moved from another private rented dwelling, whilst 26 per cent moved from living at their parental home.

Adults living in local authority dwellings and housing association properties have a very similar profile of person characteristics. Adults in social rented properties have a higher proportion of people permanently sick or disabled (13 per cent) compared to adults in private rented households or owner occupier households, and a higher proportion of people unemployed and seeking work (9 per cent) compared to other tenures. Eighty-seven per cent of people in social sector properties record their ethnicity as white Scottish, compared with 79 per cent for Scotland as a whole. For the 12 per cent who have moved into their property in the last year, 49 per cent had moved from another social rented property.

Table 3.4: Adult characteristics by tenure
Column percentages, 2016 data

	Owner Occupier			Private Rent	Social Rent			Other	All
	Owned outright	Buying with help of loan/mortgage	All		Local authority	Housing association / Co-op / Charitable trust	All
Proportional sizes of sectors*	32	29	61	15	13	10	23	1	100
Ethnicity
White Scottish	83	80	81	57	89	84	87	74	79
White other British	13	12	13	16	5	8	6	14	12
White Polish	0	2	1	5	3	2	3	.	2
White other	2	3	2	11	1	2	2	2	3
Any Mixed or Multiple Ethnic Groups	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	0
Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British	1	2	2	8	1	1	1	3	2
African, Caribbean or Black	0	1	0	1	1	1	1	4	1
Other Ethnic Group	1	0	0	2	0	1	1	1	1
Don't know	-	-	-	0	-	-	-	-	0
Refused	-	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	0
Economic situation
Self employed	6	8	7	8	3	2	3	7	6
Employed full time	22	59	41	41	23	26	24	25	37
Employed part time	7	13	10	8	10	11	11	6	10
Looking after the home or family	2	4	3	8	10	9	9	10	5
Permanently retired from work	55	5	29	6	23	22	23	32	25
Unemployed and seeking work	1	1	1	5	10	8	9	8	3
At school	1	4	2	1	2	2	2	-	2
In further / higher education	2	5	3	20	3	5	4	5	6
Gov't work or training scheme	-	0	0	0	0	0	0	-	0
Permanently sick or disabled	2	1	1	2	13	13	13	6	4
Unable to work because of short-term illness or injury	0	0	0	1	3	3	3	1	1
Other (specify)	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	-	0
Length of time at current address
Less than one year	3	9	6	41	12	12	12	20	12
1 to 2 years	5	14	10	27	14	16	15	14	13
3 to 4 years	5	11	8	15	14	14	14	15	10
5 to 10 years	12	27	20	12	20	28	24	18	19
11 to 20 years	25	28	27	3	19	21	20	12	22
More than 20 years	50	10	29	2	20	9	16	22	23
Average time at current address in years	22.3	9.9	15.9	2.8	11.9	8.9	10.6	11.8	12.9
Base	3,440	2,610	6,050	1,270	1,260	940	1,390	120	9,640
Age
16 to 24	1	2	1	19	6	5	5	9	5
25 to 34	2	20	11	34	14	14	14	23	15
35 to 44	3	27	14	19	16	18	17	11	16
45 to 59	23	41	32	18	28	30	29	15	29
60 to 74	45	8	27	8	24	21	23	15	23
75 plus	27	2	15	3	11	12	12	27	13
Base	3,650	2,920	6,570	1,390	1,360	1,020	2,380	130	10,470
Tenure of previous address**
Owned outright	47	5	16	5	3	2	3	-	8
Buying with help of loan/mortgage	20	38	33	7	9	4	7	-	15
Private Rented	13	21	19	55	16	23	19	-	36
Rent – Local authority	8	4	5	2	38	13	27	-	8
Rent - Housing association/Coop/Charitable trust	2	3	3	2	7	41	22	-	6
Other	4	4	4	3	6	6	6	-	4
In parental/family home	6	26	21	26	20	11	16	-	22
Base	100	220	320	470	150	110	260	20	1,080

* Based on Household sample (base: 10,470)
** Only asked of those who have been at their current address for less than a year

Responses for ethnicity, economic situation, length of time at current address and tenure of previous address are based on the random adult part of the survey, and therefore reflect characteristics of adults within households rather than the entire household.

Neighbourhood views, reasons for moving and future housing aspirations

• Over a third of households who own their property outright moved to their area to get the right size or kind of property.
• Around one in five households in private rented accommodation moved to their area to be close to work or employment.
• Only 19 per cent of households in private rented accommodation had a very strong feeling of belonging to their immediate neighbourhood (45 per cent of households who own outright).
• Seven in ten households in private rented accommodation state that the type of accommodation they would most like to live in would be an owner occupier property.
• Over four in ten (44 per cent) of households in social rented accommodation state that the type of accommodation they would most like to live in would be an owner occupier property, with around half (49 per cent) preferring to live in social rented accommodation.

Table 3.5 provides information for the year 2016 on people’s views on their neighbourhood, their reasons for moving to the area, and their future housing aspirations.

Over a third (36 per cent) of households who own their property outright moved to their area to get the right size or kind of property, a figure higher than for rented tenures. Over two thirds (68 per cent) of households who own outright rate their neighbourhood as a very good place to live, with a further 30 per cent rating their neighbourhood as fairly good. Nearly half (45 per cent) of households who own outright have a very strong feeling of belonging to their immediate neighbourhood, with a further 41 per cent having a fairly strong feeling of belonging. Eighty five per cent of households who own outright expect not to move from their current property in the future, and nearly all owned-outright households (99 per cent) state that the type of accommodation they would most like to live in would be an owner occupier property.

Similar to owned-outright households, a third (34 per cent) of households owning with a mortgage or a loan moved to their area to get the right size or kind of property. Nearly one in five (20 per cent) of households owning with a mortgage or a loan state that they would expect to move from their current property within 5 years. Almost three quarters (73 per cent) expect not to move from their current property in the future. Similar to owned-outright households, nearly all (97 per cent) of households owning with a mortgage or a loan state that the type of accommodation they would most like to live in would be an owner occupier property.

Around one in five (21 per cent) households in private rented accommodation moved to their area to be close to work or employment, a higher percentage figure than other tenures. Only 19 per cent of households in private rented accommodation had a very strong feeling of belonging to their immediate neighbourhood, whilst 40 per cent felt not very strongly or not at all strongly; the highest of any tenure. Over half (54 per cent) of households in private rented accommodation expect to move from their current property within the next 5 years, a percentage much higher than in other tenures. Seven in ten (70 per cent) households in private rented accommodation state that the type of accommodation they would most like to live in would be an owner occupier property. Nine per cent would most like to live in social rented accommodation and 18 per cent would most like to live in private rented accommodation.

Local authority dwellings and housing association properties show a very similar profile. Around four in ten (41 per cent) of households in social rented properties rated their neighbourhood as a very good place to live, a percentage which is lower than other tenures. Almost eight in ten (79 per cent) expect not to move from their current property in the future. Over four in ten (44 per cent) of households in social rented accommodation state that the type of accommodation they would most like to live in would be an owner occupier property, with around half (49 per cent) preferring to live in social rented accommodation.

Table 3.5: Views on neighbourhood and housing aspirations, by tenure
Column percentages, 2016 data

	Owner Occupier				Social Rent
	Owned outright	Buying with help of loan/mortgage	All	Private Rent	Local authority	Housing association / Co-op / Charitable trust	All	Other	All
Proportional sizes of sectors*	32	29	61	15	13	10	23	1	100
Reasons for moving to area
To be near family/friends	7	10	8	9	12	9	11	18	9
To be close to work/employment	11	11	11	21	3	3	3	19	11
Change in family/household circumstances / left home	25	23	24	29	30	31	30	19	26
To buy own house/flat or rent place of own	13	21	17	9	9	7	8	2	13
Health reasons, including move to bungalow / flat	3	1	2	1	9	11	10	5	4
Moved to sheltered housing / supported accommodation	-	0	0	0	2	2	2	-	1
Like the area / nice area	18	17	18	15	8	11	9	10	15
Move to the countryside / sea	2	2	2	1	0	1	0	-	2
Good schools	2	4	3	1	1	-	0	3	2
Good services / amenities	1	2	2	3	2	3	2	5	2
Good transport	1	1	1	1	-	0	0	-	1
Wanted a garden / land	3	3	3	1	1	-	1	2	2
Right size / kind of property	36	34	35	17	27	20	24	20	29
Cheaper property	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	4	2
No choice - allocated by council / Housing Association, eviction	1	1	1	3	10	15	12	4	4
To avoid violence / discrimination	1	1	1	1	3	2	2	4	1
Other	1	1	1	2	2	1	2	4	1
Don't know	1	0	0	0	1	1	1	-	0
Base	1,120	900	2,020	450	470	360	830	60	3,360
Rating of neighbourhood as a place to live
Very good	68	60	63	49	43	40	41	56	57
Fairly good	30	37	34	45	47	49	48	37	38
Fairly poor	2	2	2	5	8	7	7	3	4
Very poor	1	0	0	1	3	4	3	4	1
No opinion	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	-	0
Strength of belonging to immediate neighbourhood
Very strongly	45	33	39	19	32	35	33	38	35
Fairly strongly	41	46	44	39	42	42	42	26	42
Not very strongly	11	17	14	27	16	15	15	19	16
Not at all strongly	2	4	3	13	8	8	8	13	5
Don't know	0	0	0	2	1	1	1	3	1
Base	3,440	2,610	6,050	1,270	1,260	940	2,200	120	9,640
When the householder expects to move
Within 6 months	1	3	2	16	2	3	2	-	4
Over 6 months to less than 1 year	1	2	2	12	3	4	3	-	3
Over 1 year, less than 2 years	2	4	3	14	4	4	4	-	5
Over 2 years, less than 3 years	1	3	2	8	2	2	2	-	3
Over 3 years, less than 4 years	1	4	2	2	2	0	1	-	2
Over 4 years, less than 5 years	1	3	2	2	1	1	1	-	2
More than 5 years	3	5	4	3	1	1	1	-	3
Don't expect to move	85	73	79	35	79	79	79	-	72
Don't know	4	3	4	8	5	4	5	-	4
Accommodation householder would like to live in
Owner occupier	99	97	98	70	46	41	44	-	82
Local Authority Rent	0	1	1	7	42	5	26	-	7
Housing Association Rent	0	1	0	2	5	47	23	-	6
Private Rent	0	0	0	18	1	0	1	-	3
Sheltered / Supported accommodation	0	0	0	1	4	4	4	-	1
Other	-	-	-	0	-	1	0	-	0
Don't know	0	1	1	2	2	1	1	-	1
Base	1,160	980	2,140	450	410	310	720	30	3,350

* Based on Household sample (base: 10,470)
** Columns may not add up to 100 per cent since multiple responses were allowed

Housing adaptations and support

• Households in social rented accommodation (60 per cent) were more likely than other tenures to have a member of the household with a physical or mental health condition or illness lasting or expecting to last 12 months or more.
• The most common types of home adaptions already in place for all homes (whether needed or not) are handrails, which are in 10 per cent of all homes, and in 15 per cent of social sector homes.
• Over one in ten (12 per cent) of social sector homes have a specially designed or adapted bath or shower, and 5 per cent of social sector homes have a specially designed or adapted toilet.

Table 3.6 and Table 3.7 provide information for the year 2016 on housing adaptations and support.

Households owning their property outright (44 per cent) and households in social rented accommodation (60 per cent) were more likely than other tenures to have a member of the household with a physical or mental health condition or illness lasting or expecting to last 12 months or more.

For households with a person with a physical or mental health condition, the most common aspects of their home that limit activities that can be done (based on the question options provided in the Scottish Household Survey) are not being able to get upstairs inside the house (six per cent) and the bath or shower being difficult to access or use (four per cent). Of all households with a person with a physical or mental health condition, 86 per cent stated that nothing about the home limited activities that could be done.

Twelve per cent of households with a person with a physical or mental health condition state that their home requires adaptations to make it easier to go about daily activities, rising to 16 per cent for those in social rented accommodation.

The most common types of home adaptions already in place for all homes (whether needed or not) are handrails, which are in 10 per cent of all homes, and in 15 per cent of social sector homes. Over one in ten (12 per cent) of social sector homes have a specially designed or adapted bath or shower, and five per cent of social sector homes have a specially designed or adapted toilet.

Two per cent of all households currently receive a home care worker or home help to help with housework, cooking and cleaning, whilst two per cent receive a home care worker to help with washing, bathing, dressing etc. Four per cent of homes receive some sort of assistance from a relative, friend or neighbour, rising to seven per cent of social sector homes.

Table 3.6: Limiting activities by tenure
Column percentages, 2016 data

	Owner Occupier				Social Rent
	Owned outright	Buying with help of loan/mortgage	All	Private Rent	Local authority	Housing association / Co-op / Charitable trust	All	Other	All
Proportional sizes of sectors*	32	29	61	15	13	10	23	1	100
Household has someone with a long term physical/mental health condition/illness**
Yes	44	24	35	25	60	59	60	46	39
No	56	76	65	75	40	41	40	54	61
Base	3,650	2,920	6,570	1,390	1,360	1,020	2,380	130	10,470
What about the home limits activities that can be done***
Can't get upstairs inside house	8	6	8	7	4	6	5	-	6
Too small / need more rooms	0	-	0	-	0	1	0	-	0
Can't leave house because of stairs to house	1	1	1	1	2	1	2	-	1
Restricted movement / can't get around the house due to design / layout	2	1	1	3	2	1	2	-	2
Doors too narrow	0	-	0	-	0	1	1	-	0
Rooms too small	-	1	0	0	1	1	1	-	0
Bath / shower difficult to access / use	4	3	4	2	5	7	6	-	4
Toilet difficult to access / use	1	1	1	1	2	3	2	-	2
Electric lights / sockets are difficult to reach / use	1	1	1	0	1	1	1	-	1
Heating controls are difficult to reach / use	1	0	1	1	0	1	0	-	1
Can't open windows	1	2	1	2	1	3	2	-	1
Difficulty answering / opening door	1	0	1	1	0	1	0	-	1
Cupboards / shelves are difficult to reach / use	2	2	2	1	1	3	2	-	2
Can't get into / use garden	1	1	1	-	1	1	1	-	1
Other	1	0	0	-	0	0	0	-	0
None / nothing	87	88	87	91	85	82	84	-	86
Whether the home requires adaptations to make it easier to go about daily activities ***
Yes	10	7	9	9	15	18	16	-	12
No	89	92	90	91	83	82	83	-	87
Don't know	1	1	1	-	2	-	1	-	1
Base	550	250	800	130	320	240	560	30	1,510

* Based on Household sample (base: 10,470)
** A long term condition is defined as lasting or expecting to last for 12 months or more
*** Asked of households with someone with a long term condition/illness
Columns may not add up to 100 due to multiple answers allowed

Table 3.7: Housing adaptations and support, by tenure
Column percentages, 2016 data

	Owner Occupier				Social Rent
	Owned outright	Buying with help of loan/mortgage	All	Private Rent	Local authority	Housing association / Co-op / Charitable trust	All	Other	All
Proportional sizes of sectors*	32	29	61	15	13	10	23	1	100
Home adaptations that are already in place
Ramps	4	3	4	1	5	3	4	4	3
Door widening	2	2	2	0	2	4	3	7	2
Relocated light switches and power points	1	1	1	1	3	3	3	2	1
Individual alarm systems	3	1	2	0	4	4	4	3	2
Stairlift	3	1	2	0	2	1	1	4	2
Through floor lift	0	0	0	-	0	0	0	-	0
Handrails	13	5	9	5	17	12	15	21	10
Specially designed / adapted kitchen	1	0	0	0	2	2	2	-	1
Specially designed / adapted bathroom / shower	8	2	5	2	14	9	12	5	6
Specially designed / adapted toilet	4	2	3	1	6	3	5	4	3
Door entry phone	2	2	2	5	7	8	7	7	4
Extension to meet disabled person's needs	0	0	0	-	0	0	0	-	0
Special Furniture	1	0	1	1	1	1	1	-	1
Other	-	-	-	-	0	0	0	-	0
None needed / provided	78	89	84	88	67	74	70	67	81
Don't know	1	0	1	1	1	0	1	1	1
Services that household members currently receive
Home care worker / home help (helping with housework, cooking, cleaning)	3	1	2	0	5	5	5	9	2
Home care worker (helping with washing / bathing, dressing, toilet)	2	0	1	0	3	3	3	1	2
Meals delivered to home / meals on wheels	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	0
Day care / day centre (in hospital, residential home or other organisation)	0	-	0	1	1	1	1	-	0
Respite / short term care in residential / nursing home	1	0	0	0	1	-	0	-	0
Occupational therapy / physiotherapy	1	0	1	1	2	2	2	-	1
Help with shopping	2	1	1	1	4	3	4	5	2
Night care (someone present at night only)	0	-	0	0	1	1	1	-	0
Assistance from relative / friend / neighbour	4	1	3	2	9	5	7	4	4
None	91	98	94	97	86	87	87	89	93
Base	1,260	1,010	2,270	480	530	390	910	60	3,730

* Based on Household sample (base: 10,470)
Columns may not add up to 100 due to multiple answers allowed

3.4 Housing Lists

• An estimated 110,000 (4 per cent) of households were on a housing list in 2016, a decrease compared with an estimated 130,000 (5 per cent) of households in 2015.
• Of households on a housing list in 2016, almost three quarters (72 per cent) were on a single list and over half (53 per cent) had been on a housing list for 3 years or less.
• For around a quarter (24 per cent) of social rented households on a housing list, the main reason for being on a list was to move to bigger or smaller property. The main reason for private rented households was that they cannot afford current housing or would like cheaper housing. This was identified by 31 per cent of private rented households on a housing list.

The number of people on housing lists helps provide an indication of the demand for social housing. In Scotland anyone over the age of 16 has the right to be admitted to a housing list. Since there is no test of particular housing need at the stage that an application is made, housing lists are indicators of demand and not necessarily of housing need.

Housing lists are held by social landlords, local authorities and housing associations, individually or jointly as Common Housing Registers. They can include people who are already in social housing but are seeking a move and in some cases applicants will be on more than one landlord’s list. Social landlords are responsible for allocating their housing, in line with their allocation policies and the legislative framework.

The Housing (Scotland) Act 2014 contains provisions intended to support social landlords to allocate and manage their housing in a way which balances the variety of housing needs in their area and gives local communities a greater say in who gets priority for housing.

A question on whether a household was on a housing list was introduced to the SHS in 2013, with additional, supplementary questions introduced in 2016. These questions are asked of the random adult ^[32] . Table 3.8 provides information on households on a housing list in 2016.

Eleven per cent of private rented households state that they are on a housing list, of which almost three quarters (73 per cent) are only on one list. Around half (51 per cent) of private rented households on a housing list had been so for 3 years or less, with one third (33 per cent) on a list for 1 to 3 years. Twelve per cent had been on a housing list for more than 10 years. For over three in ten (31 per cent) of private rented households on a housing list, the main reason for being on a housing list was that they can’t afford current housing or would like cheaper housing. This was a much larger percentage than the equivalent figure for social rented households (3 per cent).

Nine per cent of social rented households state that they are on a housing list, of which 71 per cent are only on one list. Fifty-nine per cent of social rented households on a housing list had been so for 3 years or less, with almost one third (29 per cent) on a list for less than a year. Eight per cent had been on a housing list for more than 10 years. For around a quarter (24 per cent) of social rented households on a housing list, the main reason for being on a housing list was to move to a bigger or smaller property.

Table 3.8: Households on a Housing List by tenure
Column percentages, 2016 data

	Owner Occupier			Private Rent	Social Rent			Other	All
	Owned outright	Buying with help of loan/mortgage	All		Local authority	Housing association / Co-op / Charitable trust	All
Whether household is on a housing list
Yes	1	1	1	11	10	8	9	10	4
No	99	99	99	88	88	90	89	89	95
Don't know/Refused	0	0	0	1	2	2	2	1	1
Base	3,440	2,610	6,050	1,270	1,260	940	2,200	120	9,640
How many housing lists households are on (households on a list)
1 list	-	-	-	73	69	75	71	-	72
2 lists	-	-	-	13	10	11	11	-	12
3 or more lists	-	-	-	9	6	5	5	-	7
Don't know	-	-	-	6	15	10	13	-	9
How long has the household been on a housing list (households on a list)
Less than a year	-	-	-	18	34	21	29	-	24
1 to 3 years	-	-	-	33	27	35	30	-	30
4 to 5 years	-	-	-	20	18	14	17	-	18
6 to 10 years	-	-	-	13	12	17	14	-	14
More than 10 years	-	-	-	12	7	9	8	-	11
Don't know	-	-	-	4	3	3	3	-	3
Main reason for household being on a housing list (households on a list)
Can't afford current housing/Would like cheaper housing	-	-	-	31	-	7	3	-	13
Threatened with homelessness	-	-	-	11	12	5	9	-	12
To move to a different area - anti-social/safety concerns in current area	-	-	-	2	9	8	8	-	5
To move to a different area - for work opportunities	-	-	-	2	3	3	3	-	2
To move to a different area - to a better area	-	-	-	5	11	3	8	-	6
To move to a different area - to be nearer family and friends	-	-	-	8	9	11	10	-	8
To move to a different area - other reason	-	-	-	3	1	0	1	-	2
To move to a different property - bigger/smaller	-	-	-	11	22	26	24	-	17
To move to a different property - need adaptations	-	-	-	3	5	1	4	-	4
To move to a different property - need ground floor access	-	-	-	2	10	12	11	-	8
To move to my own property away from parents/partner etc	-	-	-	8	7	6	6	-	8
To move to a different property - other reason	-	-	-	9	6	4	5	-	7
Other	-	-	-	4	4	6	4	-	5
Don't know	-	-	-	-	1	8	4	-	2
Base	20	20	40	160	120	80	200	10	400

Table 3.9 and Table 3.10 present the results for 2016 based on the percentage of respondents who indicated that they were on at least one housing list, whether through a Council, Registered Social Landlord ( RSL) or a Common Housing Register ( CHR).

Table 3.9: Adults on housing lists
Column percentages and population estimates, 2013 to 2016 data

	2013		2014		2015		2016		Difference
	Per cent	Adults	Per cent	Adults	Per cent	Adults	Per cent	Adults	Per cent	Adults
No, not on a housing list	91.9	4,060,000	92.9	4,120,000	94.3	4,210,000	95.5	4,290,000	1.2	80,000
Yes, on a housing list	6.4	280,000	6.0	270,000	5.0	220,000	3.9	170,000	-1.1	-50,000
Don't know/refused	1.7	80,000	1.1	50,000	0.7	30,000	0.6	30,000	-0.1	0
All*	100	4,416,021	100	4,436,318	100	4,460,738	100	4,488,783	0	28,045
Base	9,920	-	9,800	-	9,410	-	9,640		-	-

* Adult estimates (population aged 16 and over) are from National Records of Scotland

Table 3.10: Households on housing lists
Column percentages and household estimates, 2013 to 2016 data

	2013		2014		2015		2016		Difference
	Per cent	Households	Per cent	Households	Per cent	Households	Per cent	Households	Per cent	Households
No, not on a housing list	90.9	2,180,000	92.2	2,230,000	94.0	2,290,000	94.9	2,330,000	0.9	40,000
Yes, on a housing list	7.3	170,000	6.6	160,000	5.2	130,000	4.4	110,000	-0.8	-20,000
Don't know/refused	1.8	40,000	1.2	30,000	0.8	20,000	0.7	20,000	-0.1	0
All*	100	2,401,691	100	2,419,921	100	2,433,956	100	2,451,869	0	17,913
Base	9,920	-	9,800	-	9,410	-	9,640		-	-

* Household estimates are from National Records of Scotland

To convert the SHS estimate into the corresponding number of adults, the SHS percentage is multiplied by the estimated adult population ^[33] . This estimates that there were 170,000 adults in Scotland on housing lists for 2016, a decrease from the estimated 220,000 adults in 2015. It is important to note that this estimate does not include children and that, where an adult is responsible for a child, the child will effectively also be on a housing list.

Housing list statistics are more commonly reported in terms of the number of households on lists rather than the number of adults. Table 3.10 shows that 4.4 per cent of households were on a housing list in 2016. In a similar way to the estimates for adults, this is multiplied by NRS household estimates ^[34] to give an estimate that 110,000 households are on a list. This is a decrease from the estimated 130,000 households in 2015.

Some of the decrease in the proportion of adults and households who have reported that they were on a housing list between 2013 and 2016 may be due to some social landlords moving to using a choice based letting system over this time period, as opposed to using a more traditional points based housing list system. This may have resulted in some households not considering themselves to be on a housing list even though they are actively seeking social housing through other routes such as choice based lettings. Changes have been made to the 2017 SHS questions on housing lists with the aim to better capture households who are using choice based lettings when seeking social housing.

Note that the Scottish Household Survey is based on a sample of the general population living in private residences in Scotland, and therefore it may exclude some people or households or who are on a housing list but who are living in other types of accommodation such as hostels or bed and breakfast accommodation.

The estimated share of households on a housing list has been calculated based on responses from the random adult but weighted to make it representative of households.

This methodology is likely to slightly under-estimate the true figure due to assumptions which are discussed in Annex 2: Glossary.

3.4.1 Other Sources of Housing List Statistics

Housing list statistics are also reported in Housing Statistics for Scotland ( HSfS) ^[35] , which reported that there were 167,122 applicant households on Local Authority or Common Housing Register housing waiting or transfer lists as at 31 March 2016, compared with the estimate of 110,000 from the SHS. The Housing Statistics for Scotland figure will include some double counting of households who are on multiple housing lists. However, it also excludes six Local Authorities (including Glasgow) which have transferred all of their social housing stock to Housing Associations.

Housing lists statistics are also available from an Ipsos MORI Omnibus Survey ^[36] conducted in 2010 and 2011, which reported 144,000 and 128,000 households respectively on lists. The questions asked in this survey were more detailed than the question asked in the SHS and provides information about current and previous experiences of households on housing lists. The Ipsos MORI results were based on sample sizes of around 1,000 adults, so they are less reliable than the SHS results.

Conclusion

This chapter has summarised Scottish Household Survey findings on housing. This has covered housing tenure, characteristics of households by tenure, housing adaptations and support and housing lists.