Housing affordability study: Findings report

1. Introduction

This report presents findings from a qualitative research study exploring experiences and understanding of housing affordability among tenants in Scotland.

Context

The availability and affordability of housing is an area of significant concern in Scotland, with homelessness charities including Shelter Scotland describing the situation as a ‘housing emergency’.^[1]

Renters across the country face significant barriers to securing affordable accommodation in both the private rental and social housing sectors, including high levels of demand, shortages in housing stock, sub-standard accommodation and rising rents amid the cost of living crisis. First-time buyers also experience substantial challenges; house prices have risen steadily over the past decade, and a recent spike in interest rates has affected mortgage costs and lending options for buyers.^[2]

The Scottish Government has taken steps to address the complex area of housing affordability, quality and availability, but many in Scotland continue to struggle to find appropriate housing.

For housing to be appropriate, it must be affordable. While National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) defines affordable housing as “good quality homes that are affordable to people on low incomes”^[3], the Scottish Government is eager to establish a clearer and more detailed definition of housing affordability. This will underpin future work to design and implement policies and workstreams to ensure that Scotland’s housing system functions well and meets the vision set out in Housing to 2040: that everyone has a safe, high-quality home that is affordable and meets their needs in the place they want to be.^[4]

Qualitative research with tenants

In July 2023, the Scottish Government commissioned social research agency The Lines Between to deliver a qualitative research study exploring experiences and understanding of housing affordability among social housing and private rental tenants in Scotland.

The research aims were to:

• find out what ‘affordable housing’ or ‘housing affordability’ means to tenants;
• understand their concept of what constitutes a decent standard of living in relation to housing costs, exploring what is needed to live with dignity and maintain a good quality of life;
• explore experiences of housing unaffordability and housing stress; and
• gather tenants’ views on definitions of housing affordability to inform recommendations to Ministers.

Participants in the study were recruited through Scottish Government contacts, including the Tenant Participation Advisory Service (TPAS), Tenants Information Service (TIS), Living Rent and housing associations across Scotland. All participants received a £50 shopping voucher as a thank-you for their contribution.

A total of 24 participants took part in the study; the sample was designed to ensure adequate representation across several different categories, including: age; gender; local authority; rurality; and household and tenancy type. Figure 1 sets out the demographics of the sample in more detail.

Figure 1: Sample profile^[5]

• Gender
  • 50% male (12)
  • 46% female (11)
  • 4% non-binary (1)
• Age
  • 21% aged 21-30 (5)
  • 21% aged 31-40 (5)
  • 13% aged 41-50 (3)
  • 17% aged 51-60 (4)
  • 17% aged 61-70 (4)
  • 13% aged 70+ (3)
• Location
  • 14 different local authorities across Scotland^[6]
  • 75% Urban (18)
  • 25% Rural/Remote (6)
• Tenancy type
  • 58% social landlord (14)
  • 38% private landlord (9)
  • 4% n/a (struggling first time buyer living with parents) (1)
• Living arrangements/ household type
  • 38% living alone (9)
  • 25% have child(ren) living with them (6 in total - 4 with partner/spouse, 2 single parents)
  • 25% living with flatmates (6)
  • 8% living with partner/spouse only (2)
  • 4% living at home with parents (1)

Data collection involved online focus groups and one-to-one online/telephone interviews exploring: tenants’ experiences of housing stress and unaffordability; housing aspirations; views on what constitutes a ‘decent’ standard of living; and views on different approaches to measuring and defining housing affordability.

The research was conducted over two phases.^[7] Phase 1 involved a wide-ranging exploration of housing experiences and aspirations, while Phase 2 explored definitions of standards of living and housing affordability in more detail.

Data limitations

Our findings are based on online focus groups and online/telephone interviews with 24 tenants across Scotland. The data collection methods and sample size were deemed reasonable, given the resource parameters of the research and short timescales for delivery. However, it is a small sample, and the findings should not be interpreted as representative of the wider population but rather as detailed qualitative information on views and experiences of housing affordability.

Report structure

The report presents findings under the following themes:

• Definitions of housing costs.
• Experiences of affording housing costs.
• Views on standards of living.
• Views on measures of affordability.
• Learnings and conclusions are presented in the final chapter.

Direct quotations from interviews and focus groups have been included throughout the report; we have indicated whether the quotes were provided by private or social tenants.