Draft Rented Sector Strategy Survey

Collection Period - February 2022

The Scottish Government recently published its draft rented sector strategy – A New Deal for Tenants – for consultation. The draft strategy: seeks to improve accessibility, affordability choices and standards across the whole rented sector in Scotland sets out, and invites, views on how to deliver a new deal for tenants to progress the right to an adequate home and deliver the vision for Housing to 2040 aims to ensure all tenants, whether living in private or social rented homes, can access secure, stable, tenancies, with affordable choices –while also benefiting from good quality homes and professional levels of service and rights.

SFHA is providing opportunities for members to feed into its response to the draft strategy, including via workshops and a survey.

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* 1. What are the most important factors to be incorporated into a shared understanding of housing affordability (e.g. household size and composition, regional variations, housing standards, treatment of benefits)?

Household size and composition

Regional variations

Housing standards

Treatment of Benefits

Other (please specify)

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* 2. Do you think the current safeguards for rent setting in the social rented sector are sufficient and, if not, how could they be strengthened? Please explain your answer.

Yes

Please explain your answer

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* 3. How do we ensure that we are achieving the right balance between building new properties and acquiring existing properties through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme?

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* 4. Is the approach to allocations achieving the right balance between supporting existing social tenants and those who are seeking a home within the social sector?

Yes

Comments

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* 5. What are the key challenges for landlords in meeting all the housing standard requirements and timescales, including carrying out essential repairs, and what support could be put in place to help landlords overcome barriers?

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* 6. Are there any additional specific grounds for ending a tenancy that you think should be added? What further refinements could be made to the social rented sector pre-action requirements in order to further protect and support tenants?

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* 7. Do you think additional protections against the ending of tenancies during the winter period are needed? If yes, what other policies or interventions could be considered to prevent evictions during the winter period?

Yes

If Yes, what other policies or interventions could be considered to prevent evictions during the winter period?

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* 8. Beyond the routes already available to deliver MMR homes, how could new, additional investment in this tenure be supported?

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* 9. While the consultation paper does not directly ask any questions regarding the Scottish Housing Regulator, it proposes that the SHR develop a "greater improvement role" and that it build on thematic studies and lessons learned from statutory intervention to produce recommended practice guidance for RSLs. Do you have any comments on this aspect of the paper?

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* 10. While we have identified the above as the key question raised within the document impacting our sector, if there is anything else in relation to the consultation paper you would like to comment on please use the space below to provide your thoughts.