Social housing allocations in Scotland: A new context?

Abstract

Studies of social housing in Scotland, and the UK as a whole, have tended to focus on the future of social housing in structural terms – how social housing functions as part of the wider housing market or welfare system. Less recent attention has been paid to how housing policy functions at the front line, particularly to the perceptions and working practices of housing professionals. This study seeks to redress this, examining how wider changes in policy and society as experienced by housing officers, working for registered social landlords in Scotland. The context in which officers operate has undergone significant upheaval in recent years, with the impact of austerity and welfare reform felt disproportionally by the poorest in society, more likely to be housed in social housing. While social landlords face also increasing financial pressures, being required to sustain themselves as independent businesses. This study explored the impact of these pressures, through rich detailed semi-structured interviews with housing professionals working at the front line. The study found that housing officers were increasingly playing a role more akin to that of a social worker, becoming more involved in tenants' lives. It also identified a number of exclusionary practices within the allocations process, offering insight into debates surrounding the ‘de-residualisation’ of social housing. Further research, with wider sampling and mixed-methods, should focus on these areas.