Call for 'disruptive' change in Scottish housing system
As reported by The Scotsman, the report warns Scotland's housing is 'at the edge of a precipice to an even bleaker future' and should be treated as essential economic infrastructure on a par with transport, energy and digital connectivity, with overhauls of land reform and the planning system.
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Professor Duncan Maclennan of the University of Glasgow, who authored the report, said there was 'little recognition that successive cohorts of over-50s households have been giving the under-30s a housing 'haircut' for the last half century'.
The report notes that home ownership rates are falling for every age bracket under 50, with more electoral wards and parliamentary constituencies are moving towards electorates with a majority of renters.
Titled 'Prosperity begins at home: Scottish housing policies for faster, fairer economic growth', the report states that housing policy by both the Scottish Government and the UK Government has "lost any coherence", with private landlords plugging gaps in provision but also subject to increasing controls.
Professor Maclennan told The Scotsman: "Without a step-change in approach, Scotland will see worsening housing unaffordability, declining regional cohesion, and underperformance in key sectors of its economy.
"More and more households will be priced out of opportunity, while communities continue to struggle with poor-quality homes and fraying infrastructure.'
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