Council Tax Multipliers Consultation
Common Weal is disappointed that the Scottish Government has once again decided to tackle the…
A New Deal For Tenants – Consultation Response
Common Weal’s response to the Scottish Government’s New Deal for Tenants Consultation. The right for…
Good Houses For All
Scotland’s housing sector is deeply unbalanced.The owner-occupier sector has inflated prices far out of reach of many whilst delivering cold, draughty and poorly built homes to those who can still afford them, the private rental sector has similarly inflated – trapping many in a situation where they cannot simultaneously pay rent and save for the […]
Housing 2040 Consultation Response
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 […]
The Rent Controls Scotland Needs
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 […]
Public Land Value Capture: A new model for housing development in Scotland
This report outlines the case for public land value capture – the process by which councils, not those selling land, can benefit from the increase in land value due to changing use (such as planning permission for housing) or can reduce house prices by not passing that uplifted cost on to renters and buyers of […]
Alienating, insecure and unaffordable: Living in Scotland’s private rented sector
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.
Housekeeping Scotland: Discussion paper outlining a new agenda for housing
Malcolm Fraser outlines a vision for housing based on reinvigorating town centres and creating good quality of life for all.
A Living Rent for Scotland’s Private Tenants
This report, co-published by Common Weal and the Living Rent Campaign, outlines five key policy recommendations for creating a living rent in the private rented sector in Scotland:1) That initial rents be set against a points system to reflect the value of the property.2) That rent increases be capped at a rent affordability index to […]
Housing For A Better Nation
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 […]