This content applies to Scotland only.

While advances have been made in homeless peoples rights to housing, much of the housing itself is in dire need of improvement. The Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 takes steps to raise standards in the private sector, but Shelter is also campaigning for increased investment into public housing and a solution to the shortage of affordable housing in Scotland.

Shelter's policy work on housing conditions

The policy library contains a range of briefings and reports on housing conditions and standards in the public and private sector.

Key policy documents on housing conditions

• Scottish housing green paper: initial response from Shelter
  This briefing outlines Shelter's response to the housing green paper
• Written evidence on the Housing (Scotland) Bill
  In this paper, Shelter welcomes the Scottish Government's proposals for legislation covering the private sector in Scotland, which includes proposals to raise the standard of repair.
• The state of Scotland's housing
  This paper is a factual account of the condition and standard of Scotland's housing, based almost entirely on information from the 2002 Scottish House Condition Survey (SHCS), published by Communities Scotland in November 2003.

Research and statistics on housing conditions

You can read the latest facts and figures about housing conditions in Scotland in our Statistics section, and find often find links to publications on housing conditions on our Recent publications page - this includes national surveys and reports on bad housing and affordability.

Further information

• Our advice section contains lots of information on repairs and bad conditions in rented and owner occupied accommodation.
• Our online subscriber service, Shelter Legal, has more detailed information on the legislation governing housing conditions.