Scottish household survey 2015: annual report

3 Housing

3.1 Introduction and Context

The Scottish Government's vision for housing is that 'All people in Scotland live in high quality sustainable homes that they can afford and that meet their needs' ^[21] . While the Scottish House Condition Survey ( SHCS) ^[22] is the primary source of information about the physical condition of housing in Scotland, the Scottish Household Survey ( SHS) also includes many useful questions on housing which can be used to explore the relationships between living circumstances and the characteristics, attitudes and behaviours of Scottish households.

This chapter presents information on changes to housing tenure in Scotland since 1999, along with tenure profiles for 2015 that provide information on characteristics of households by type of tenure.

The SHS has included a question on housing lists since 2013, and therefore headline analysis on this topic is also presented. These estimates provide additional evidence on housing lists and complement existing sources, such as the Housing Statistics for Scotland ( HSfS) publication ^[23] , which was published on 13 September 2016 and included statistics on the number of households on a local authority or common housing list up to 31 March 2016.

Main Findings

The total number of households in Scotland has increased by 11 per cent from 2.19 million households in 1999 to 2.43 million households in 2015. This means a specific tenure can have reduced in relative proportion but increased in absolute size.

Housing Tenure from 1999 to 2015

The proportion of households in the private rented sector grew steadily from 5 per cent in 1999 to 14 per cent in 2015, an estimated 192 per cent increase in the number of households.

The percentage of households in the social rented sector declined from 32 per cent in 1999 to 23 per cent in 2007, a 22 per cent drop in the number of households, and has remained at around 23 per cent of all households since then.

The percentage of households in owner occupation grew from 61 per cent in 1999 to 66 per cent in 2005, but then declined between 2009 and 2014 to 60 per cent, and in 2015 was around the same level at 61 per cent.

Characteristics of households by tenure, 2015

Owned-outright properties:

Most properties were houses (82 per cent).

Nearly three quarters (72 per cent) of households had a highest-income householder over the age of 60.

Half of adults in these properties have lived at their address for more than 20 years.

The vast majority (86 per cent) of adults in these properties did not expect to move from their current property in the future.

Properties owned with a mortgage or loan:

Thirty nine per cent of households contained children.

Based on random adult householder interviews, adults in properties owned with a mortgage or loan were more likely to be employed (80 per cent) than adults in other tenures.

Over eight in ten (82 per cent) households had a net income of more than £20,000.

Private rented properties:

Sixty four per cent of properties were flats and 47 per cent were located in large urban areas.

Six in ten (61 per cent of) households contained one or two adults under 65 with no children.

Forty three per cent of adults in these properties had been at their address for less than one year.

Social rented properties (local authority and housing association properties):

Local authority properties were evenly split between houses and flats (50 per cent each), with over four in ten (41 per cent) properties located in the 20 per cent most deprived areas.

Almost two-thirds (64 per cent) of housing association properties were flats, with over half (52 per cent) of these properties located in the 20 per cent most deprived areas and 56 per cent located in large urban areas.

Thirteen per cent of adults in social rented properties were permanently sick or disabled, and a further 9 per cent were unemployed and seeking work.

Around four in ten (39 per cent) of households in social rented accommodation stated that they would most like to live in an owner occupier property, with over half (51 per cent) preferring to live in social rented accommodation.

Households on housing lists, 2014 to 2015:

An estimated 130,000 (5 per cent) of households were on a housing list in 2015, a decrease compared with the estimated 160,000 (7 per cent) of households in 2014.

3.2 Housing Tenure

All figures presented in this section on proportions of households in different tenures should be considered in the context of changes over time to the total number of dwellings in Scotland. The number of dwellings in Scotland has increased from 1.77 million in 1969 to 2.56 million in 2015, an increase of 45 per cent over this time period. This means that a reporting of a decrease over time in the percentage share of a specific group of households does not necessarily mean that this group has reduced in terms of absolute size. Some groups of households may have maintained or increased their absolute size whilst their proportionate share of the total has reduced.

There has been a substantial change in the profile of housing tenure in Scotland since the 1960s. The long-term trend has been a marked increase in the proportion of owner-occupier households, from around 30 per cent in 1969 ^[24] to 66 per cent in 2005, although this percentage dropped to 60 per cent in 2014, and in 2015 was around the same level at 61 per cent. This long-term increase has been mirrored over this time period by the decline in the percentage of households in the social rented sector, which in 1969 accounted for around 50 per cent of households compared to 23 per cent in 2015. The proportion of households in the private rented sector also decreased from around 20 per cent in 1969 to 5 per cent in 1999, before increasing to 14 per cent in 2015.

The percentage of households in owner occupation grew from 61 per cent in 1999 to 66 per cent in 2005 (an estimated 12 per cent increase in absolute numbers of households), but declined since 2009 to stand at 60 per cent in 2014 (an estimated 6 per cent decrease in absolute numbers of households), and stayed at around the same level in 2015 (an estimated 1 per cent increase in absolute numbers of households). The increase in total numbers of dwellings in Scotland from 1999 to 2015 means that there are more owner occupier properties in 2015 in terms of absolute numbers (1.48 million households) than there were in 1999 (1.34 million households). The decrease in the share of owner occupier households between 2009 and 2014 was driven by a decline in the percentage of households owning their property with a mortgage or loan, from 39 per cent of all households in 2003 to 30 per cent of all households in 2014 where it remained in 2015. The proportion of all households owning outright increased steadily from 22 per cent in 1999 to 30 per cent in 2007, a level at which it remained in 2015.

Figure 3.1: Tenure of household by year

1999-2015 data, Households (minimum base: 10,330)

Note: Chart excludes 'other' tenure category

Trends over the medium term have also seen an increase in the proportion of households in the private rented sector, from 5 per cent in 1999 to 14 per cent in 2015 (an estimated 192 per cent increase in absolute numbers of households). The breakdown of the private rented sector into component parts of households renting from private landlord and households renting from family/friends/employers is available from 2009 onwards. This shows that the increase in the private rented sector since 2009 has been largely due to growth in the private landlord element of the sector, which has increased from 8 per cent to 13 per cent of all households, whilst the family/friends/employer part of the sector has remained flat at 2 per cent of all households for most of these years.

The percentage of households in the social rented sector has declined from 32 per cent in 1999 to 23 per cent in 2007 (a 22 per cent drop in estimated numbers of households). The social sector has remained at around 23 per cent of all households for most years since then.

Table 3.1: Households by tenure and year

Column percentages and estimates, 1999-2014 data

	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
Owner Occupier	61	62	64	65	65	64	66	65	66	66	66	65	64	63	61	60	61
Owned outright	22	24	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	30	30	30	30	31	30	30	31
Buying with help of loan/mortgage	39	38	39	39	39	37	38	37	36	36	36	35	34	32	32	30	30
Social Rent	32	30	28	28	26	27	25	25	23	23	22	23	23	23	23	24	23
Local authority	27	25	23	22	20	19	17	17	16	15	14	14	15	13	14	14	13
Housing association / Co-op / Charitable trust	5	5	5	6	6	8	7	8	8	8	8	9	9	9	9	10	10
Private Rented	5	6	6	6	6	7	8	8	9	9	10	11	11	13	13	14	14
Private landlord	5	6	6	6	6	7	8	8	9	9	8	9	10	11	11	12	13
Family/Friends/Employer	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	2	1	2	2	2	2
Other	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	1
All	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100
Base	14,680	15,550	15,570	15,070	14,880	15,940	15,400	15,620	13,410	13,810	14,190	14,210	14,360	10,640	10,650	10,630	10,330

	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
Owner Occupier	1,340,000	1,380,000	1,400,000	1,430,000	1,460,000	1,450,000	1,500,000	1,500,000	1,520,000	1,540,000	1,550,000	1,530,000	1,520,000	1,490,000	1,470,000	1,460,000	1,480,000
Owned outright	490,000	530,000	530,000	560,000	590,000	610,000	630,000	660,000	690,000	700,000	700,000	710,000	710,000	730,000	710,000	730,000	760,000
Buying with help of loan/mortgage	850,000	850,000	860,000	870,000	870,000	840,000	860,000	840,000	840,000	840,000	850,000	830,000	810,000	760,000	760,000	730,000	720,000
Social Rent	690,000	660,000	620,000	610,000	590,000	600,000	560,000	570,000	540,000	550,000	520,000	540,000	550,000	540,000	560,000	590,000	570,000
Local authority	580,000	550,000	500,000	490,000	450,000	420,000	390,000	390,000	370,000	350,000	330,000	330,000	350,000	320,000	330,000	330,000	320,000
Housing association / Co-op / Charitable trust	110,000	110,000	120,000	120,000	140,000	170,000	170,000	180,000	180,000	200,000	190,000	200,000	210,000	220,000	230,000	250,000	240,000
Private Rented	120,000	120,000	140,000	140,000	140,000	160,000	170,000	180,000	210,000	210,000	240,000	260,000	270,000	320,000	320,000	330,000	350,000
Private landlord	120,000	120,000	140,000	140,000	140,000	160,000	170,000	180,000	210,000	210,000	190,000	220,000	230,000	270,000	270,000	290,000	310,000
Family/Friends/Employer	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	50,000	40,000	30,000	40,000	50,000	40,000	40,000
Other	40,000	40,000	40,000	40,000	40,000	50,000	40,000	50,000	40,000	40,000	40,000	40,000	40,000	40,000	50,000	40,000	30,000
All*	2,186,100	2,203,160	2,194,564	2,211,430	2,230,797	2,251,262	2,274,283	2,295,185	2,318,966	2,337,967	2,351,780	2,364,850	2,376,424	2,387,211	2,401,788	2,418,335	2,433,956

Note that these estimates differ to the estimated stock of dwellings by tenure figures presented in annual Housing Statistics for Scotland publications. Housing Statistics for Scotland estimates focus on the number of dwellings each year as at March and use separately collected figures on social rent stock.
* Household estimates are from National Records of Scotland. The 1999 and 2000 estimates are based on 2001 census data, all other years are based on 2011 census data. http://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/statistics-and-data/statistics/statistics-by-theme/housholds/household-estimates

Figure 3.2 shows the trends from 1999 to 2015 in the proportions of households split by age group of the highest income householder. The proportion of households with a highest earner of age 16 to 34 years fell from 22 per cent in 1999 to 19 per cent in 2003, and has remained around this level since then, being 20 per cent in 2015. The percentage of households with a highest earner of age 35 to 59 years increased from 45 per cent in 1999 to 48 per cent in 2003, but has since fallen back to 45 per cent in 2015. The proportion of households with a highest earner of age 60 and over has risen gradually from 32 per cent in 1999 to 36 per cent in 2015.

The small fall in the percentage of households aged 16 to 34 years between 1999 and 2015 may be a result of overall demographic population changes, for example an aging of the general population, but might also be a result of some younger people remaining within family homes rather than moving to their own property. Separate Census data on household composition ^[25] shows that the percentage of people aged 20 to 34 living with their parents increased by 2.2 per cent percentage points between 2001 (23.7 per cent) and 2011 (25.9 per cent).

Figure 3.2: Households by age of highest income householder, 1999 to 2015

1999-2015 data, Households (minimum base: 10,330)

Figure 3.3, Figure 3.4 and Figure 3.5 take these age groupings and look at changes to tenure composition within each group.

These show that tenure changes have been particularly marked for households in which the highest income earner has been under 35, and households where the highest income earner has been over 60.

In particular the percentage of households with a 16 to 34 year old highest income householder that live in the private rented sector has increased substantially since 1999 (from 13 per cent in 1999 to 41 per cent in 2015), to the extent that this is now the most common tenure for these households. The counterpart to this trend is the large decrease since 2003 in the percentage of younger households owning with a mortgage, a fall from 48 per cent in 1999 to 28 per cent in 2015. The increase in house prices in Scotland from 2002 to 2008 is likely to have contributed to the earlier part of this trend. Thereafter, the financial crisis in 2008, which led to a sharp fall in high loan-to-value mortgage lending, has meant that younger households have faced larger deposit requirements in order to access mortgage finance.

Figure 3.3: Tenure of households by year ( HIH aged 16 to 34)

1999-2015 data, Households (minimum base: 1,700)

Households in which the age of the highest income earner is between 35 and 59 years have seen a rise in the percentage renting in the private sector, from 4 per cent in 1999 to 10 per cent in 2012, although this percentage has stayed steady since then. The proportion owning with a loan or mortgage has dropped from 54 per cent in 1999 to 47 per cent in 2015.

Figure 3.4: Tenure of households by year ( HIH aged 35 to 59)

1999-2015 data, Households (minimum base: 4,640)

Households in which the age of the highest income earner is 60 years or over have seen a rise in the percentage who own outright, from 46 per cent in 1999 to 64 per cent in 2015. There has been a corresponding drop in the proportion renting a social sector property from 39 per cent in 1999 to 22 per cent in 2015.

Figure 3.5: Tenure of households by year ( HIH aged 60 plus)

1999-2015 data, Households (minimum base: 3,980)

The long-term decline in percentage of social housing has been accompanied by substantial changes in the profile of its tenants. Data from the Scottish Census ^[26] show that in 1981 the profile of social sector tenants was similar to the profile of all Scottish households in terms of size, composition, and social and economic characteristics. This is no longer the case and household characteristics in 2015 show some marked differences by tenure.

Table 3.2, Table 3.3, Table 3.4, Table 3.5 and Table 3.6 explore these differences in characteristics for 2015 in more depth across all main tenure categories. Table 3.2 focuses on housing characteristics for the year 2015 such as dwelling type, location (urban/rural and index of multiple deprivation) as well as size of property as measured by the numbers of bedrooms.

Owned outright properties are much more likely to be houses (82 per cent) than flats (18 per cent). Over half (52 per cent) of properties owned outright are located in the 40 per cent least deprived areas of Scotland, while only 10 per cent are in the 20 per cent most deprived areas. Only 4 per cent of properties owned outright have one bedroom, with nearly two-thirds (64 per cent) of properties having three or more bedrooms.

Properties owned with a mortgage or loan have a similar profile to properties owned outright, although they are marginally more likely to be flats, located in large urban areas and in more-deprived areas.

In contrast to owner occupied properties, private rented properties are more likely to be flats (64 per cent) than houses (35 per cent), and they are generally much smaller - one in five (21 per cent) have one bedroom and around half (51 per cent) have two bedrooms. Almost half (47 per cent) of private rented properties are located in large urban areas.

Local authority social housing is split evenly between houses and flats (both 50 per cent). Two-fifths (41 per cent) of local authority properties are located in the 20 per cent most deprived areas of Scotland, while nearly half (47 per cent) are located in 'other' ( i.e. not large) urban areas.

Housing association properties have a similar profile to private rented properties in terms of dwelling type (64 per cent are flats). However, they are more likely than any other tenure to be located in the 20 per cent most deprived areas (52 per cent) and to have one bedroom (34 per cent).

Table 3.2: Housing characteristics by tenure

Column percentages, 2015 data

	Owner Occupier			Private Rent	Social Rent			Other	All
	Owned outright	Buying with help of loan/mortgage	All		Local authority	Housing association / Co-op / Charitable trust	All
Proportional sizes of sectors	31	30	61	14	13	10	23	1	100
Dwelling type
House	82	78	80	35	50	35	43	60	65
Flat	18	22	20	64	50	64	56	39	35
Other	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
SIMD
1 - Most Deprived	10	13	12	17	41	52	46	25	21
2	17	18	17	21	31	22	27	22	20
3	21	22	21	27	17	15	16	17	21
4	25	24	24	20	9	8	9	22	20
5 - Least Deprived	27	23	25	16	2	2	2	14	18
Urban / Rural Classification
Large urban areas	28	36	32	47	27	56	39	26	36
Other urban areas	35	35	35	32	47	27	38	41	35
Accessible small towns	10	10	10	6	10	4	8	6	9
Remote small towns	4	2	3	2	3	5	4	6	3
Accessible rural	14	12	13	7	7	5	6	15	11
Remote rural	9	4	7	6	5	4	4	6	6
Number of bedrooms
1 bedroom	4	5	5	21	26	34	29	20	13
2 bedrooms	32	28	30	51	48	42	45	40	37
3 bedrooms	43	42	43	20	24	20	22	29	34
4+ bedrooms	21	25	23	7	3	4	3	12	16
Base	3,550	2,960	6,510	1,330	1,360	1,000	2,350	130	10,330

Table 3.3 provides information on household characteristics for the year 2015 such as number of people in the household, type of household composition, and number of cars.

Households who own outright have the biggest percentage of two-person households (48 per cent) across all main tenure types. Only 15 per cent of owned outright households have three or more people living in them. Correspondingly, households in this tenure are much more likely than other tenures to be older one-person (27 per cent) or older two-person (32 per cent) households. Eighty per cent of households owning outright have at least one car. Almost three quarters (74 per cent) of owned-outright households state that they are managing very well or quite well financially, a figure higher than other tenures

Households that own with a mortgage or loan have the highest proportion of three people (21 per cent) or four or more people (29 per cent) living in the household. Correspondingly, 39 per cent of these households have children. Over 90 per cent (91 per cent) of households that own with a mortgage or loan have at least one car and 82 per cent of households have a net household income of over £20,000.

Sixty-one per cent of private renting households are either single adult households or small adult households. Twelve per cent of households in the private rented sector state that they are on a housing list. Forty four per cent of private renting households do not have a car.

The profiles of households in local authority rented properties and those in housing association properties are similar. Social rented households are characterised by large percentages of one-person households (48 per cent), and correspondingly have a high proportion of single adult household compositions (30 per cent). An estimated 11 per cent of social rented households state that they are on a housing list. This could mean than that these households wish to transfer to a different social sector property within their current social landlord area, or alternatively that they wish to move to a social sector home in a different area or provided through a different social landlord. Six in ten (61 per cent) of social sector households do not have a car, and half (50 per cent) have a net household income of £15,000 or less. Twenty nine per cent of social sector households state that they manage well financially, a figure lower than other tenures. More than one in five (22 per cent) state that they don't manage well, a figure that is higher than other tenures.

Table 3.3: Household characteristics by tenure

Column percentages, 2015 data

	Owner Occupier			Private Rent	Social Rent			Other	All
	Owned outright	Buying with help of loan/mortgage	All		Local authority	Housing association / Co-op / Charitable trust	All
Proportional sizes of sectors	31	30	61	14	13	10	23	1	100
Number of people in household
1 person	37	18	28	36	47	50	48	52	34
2 people	48	31	40	36	28	25	27	30	36
3 people	9	21	15	15	13	14	13	14	15
4+ people	6	29	17	13	12	11	12	5	15
Household composition
Large adult	9	12	11	7	6	8	7	7	9
Large family	2	10	6	5	6	5	5	1	5
Older smaller	32	3	18	3	8	6	7	11	13
Single adult	10	16	13	33	29	33	30	23	20
Single parent	1	4	2	9	10	10	10	3	5
Single older	27	3	15	4	19	18	18	28	15
Small adult	15	27	21	29	12	13	12	17	20
Small family	3	25	14	12	10	8	9	8	12
Number of cars
0 cars	20	9	14	44	59	64	61	44	30
1 car	51	45	48	42	34	30	32	36	43
2+ cars	29	47	38	14	7	6	7	20	27
Net household income
£0-£6,000	3	1	2	4	3	3	3	3	3
£6,001-£10,000	10	2	6	8	16	15	16	13	9
£10,001-£15,000	18	5	12	15	31	31	31	27	17
£15,001-£20,000	15	8	12	19	21	22	21	16	15
£20,001 plus	48	82	65	48	25	25	25	40	53
Don't know/Refused	5	1	3	6	4	4	4	1	4
Base	3,550	2,960	6,510	1,330	1,360	1,000	2,350	130	10,330
How well household is managing financially*
Manages well	74	61	68	43	29	29	29	54	55
Gets by	24	33	28	43	50	49	50	36	36
Does not manage well	2	6	4	14	21	22	22	10	10
Base	3,520	2,940	6,460	1,320	1,350	990	2,340	130	10,250
Whether household is on a housing list
Yes	1	1	1	12	12	11	11	4	5
No	99	98	98	87	86	87	87	96	94
Don't know/Refused	0	1	0	1	2	2	2	-	1
Base	3,300	2,640	5,930	1,200	1,250	920	2,160	120	9,410

*Excludes Don't know / Refused responses. The "Manage well" category has been created by combining the response categories "Manages very well" and "Manages quite well". The "Does not manage well" category has been created by combining the response categories "Doesn't manage very well", "Has some financial difficulties" and "Is in deep financial trouble".

Table 3.4 provides information on characteristics for the year 2015 such as age, ethnicity, length of tenure and tenure of previous address.

Adults in households who own outright tend to be older compared to other tenures, with 72 per cent having a highest income householder aged 60 years or more. Based on random adult householder interviewers, over half (56 per cent) of adults in owned-outright properties are estimated to be permanently retired from work, and half have been in living in the same address for more than 20 years. Of the small proportion (4 per cent) of adults who have moved into their address within the previous year, it is estimated that nearly half (47 per cent) have moved from another owned-outright property.

Households owning with a mortgage or a loan are more likely to have a highest income householder of age 35 to 44 (28 per cent) or 45 to 59 (42 per cent) than any other tenure. Based on random adult householder interviews, adults in properties owned with a mortgage or loan were more likely to be employed (80 per cent) than adults in other tenures. Of the 7 per cent of adults who have moved into their address in the previous year, an estimated 39 per cent moved from another property owned with a mortgage and a further 30 per cent moved from the private rented sector.

Households in private rented accommodation are more likely to have a highest income householder aged 16 to 24 (19 per cent) or 25 to 34 (38 per cent) than other tenures. An estimated 19 per cent of adults in the private rented sector are in school or further/higher education. Only 58 per cent have recorded their ethnicity as white Scottish, which is much lower than other tenures, while 43 per cent have been at their current address for less than one year, much higher than any other tenure. For those who have moved into their property in the last year, over half (56 per cent) moved from another private rented dwelling, whilst 24 per cent moved from living at their parental home.

Adults living in local authority dwellings and housing association properties have a very similar profile of person characteristics. Adults in social rented properties have a higher proportion of people permanently sick or disabled (13 per cent) compared to adults in private rented households or owner occupier households, and a higher proportion of people unemployed and seeking work (9 per cent) compared to other tenures. Eighty-five per cent of people in social sector properties record their ethnicity as white Scottish, compared with 79 per cent for Scotland as a whole. For the 13 per cent who have moved into their property in the last year, 46 per cent had moved from another social rented property.

Table 3.4: Person characteristics by tenure

Column percentages, 2015 data

	Owner Occupier			Private Rent	Social Rent			Other	All
	Owned outright	Buying with help of loan/mortgage	All		Local authority	Housing association / Co-op / Charitable trust	All
Proportional sizes of sectors*	31	30	61	14	13	10	23	1	100
Ethnicity
White Scottish	82	81	82	58	87	83	85	74	79
White other British	15	12	13	15	6	7	6	16	12
White Polish	0	1	1	5	3	2	3	2	2
White other	2	2	2	11	2	3	2	5	3
Any Mixed or Multiple Ethnic Groups	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	-	0
Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British	1	2	2	6	1	3	2	1	2
African, Caribbean or Black	-	0	0	2	0	2	1	-	1
Other Ethnic Group	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	2	1
Don't know	-	-	-	0	-	-	-	-	0
Refused	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	0
Economic situation
Self employed	6	7.823	7	7	2	2	2	7	6
Employed full time	22	58.238	41	44	26	22	24	23	38
Employed part time	8	13.628	11	9	12	11	12	4	11
Looking after the home or family	3	4	4	7	9	11	10	6	5
Permanently retired from work	56	5	29	5	23	21	22	35	24
Unemployed and seeking work	1	2	1	6	8	9	9	4	4
At school	0	3	2	1	2	1	1	2	2
In further / higher education	2	5	3	18	4	4	4	7	6
Gov't work or training scheme	0	0	0	-	0	-	0	-	0
Permanently sick or disabled	2	1	1	2	11	15	13	9	4
Unable to work because of short-term illness or injury	1	0	0	1	2	3	3	0	1
Other (specify)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
Length of time at current address
Less than one year	4	7	6	43	14	13	13	15	13
1 to 2 years	5	11	8	28	14	17	15	14	12
3 to 4 years	4	11	8	14	11	13	12	12	10
5 to 10 years	13	29	21	10	23	27	25	15	20
11 to 20 years	25	29	27	3	20	21	20	20	22
More than 20 years	50	13	30	2	18	10	14	24	23
Average time at current address in years	22.4	10.8	16.3	2.6	11.6	8.9	10.4	13.8	13.1
Base	3,300	2,640	5,930	1,200	1,250	920	2,160	120	9,410
Age
16 to 24	1	2	1	19	7	5	6	9	5
25 to 34	2	17	9	38	14	16	15	14	15
35 to 44	3	28	15	18	17	17	17	8	16
45 to 59	22	42	32	16	28	29	28	20	29
60 to 74	45	9	28	7	22	20	21	25	23
75 plus	27	2	15	2	12	12	12	23	13
Base	3,550	2,960	6,510	1,330	1,360	1,000	2,350	130	10,330
Tenure of previous address**
Owned outright	47	3	17	4	1	3	2	*	7
Buying with help of loan/mortgage	19	39	32	8	5	7	6	*	14
Private Rented	14	30	25	56	21	11	17	*	39
Rent - Local authority	-	4	3	3	31	10	23	*	7
Rent - Housing association/Coop/Charitable trust	2	1	2	2	10	42	23	*	6
Other	3	3	3	4	5	5	5	*	4
In parental/family home	16	20	19	24	27	22	25	*	23
Base	110	190	300	460	150	110	260	10	1,030

* Based on Household sample (base: 10,330)
** Only asked of those who have been at their current address for less than a year
Responses for ethnicity, economic situation, length of time at current address and tenure of previous address are based on the random adult part of the survey, and therefore reflect characteristics of adults within households rather than the entire household.

Table 3.5 provides information for the year 2015 on people's views on their neighbourhood, their reasons for moving to the area, and their future housing aspirations.

Almost a third (30 per cent) of households who own their property outright moved to their area to get the right size or kind of property, and 16 per cent moved because they like the area, figures which are both higher percentages than rented tenures. Over two thirds (68 per cent) of households who own outright rate their neighbourhood as a very good place to live, with a further 30 per cent rating their neighbourhood as fairly good. Nearly half (45 per cent) of households who own outright have a very strong feeling of belonging to their immediate neighbourhood, with a further 40 per cent having a fairly strong feeling of belonging. Eighty six per cent of households who own outright expect not to move from their current property in the future, and nearly all owned-outright households (99 per cent) state that the type of accommodation they would most like to live in would be an owner occupier property.

Similar to owned-outright households, a third (33 per cent) of households owning with a mortgage or a loan moved to their area to get the right size or kind of property, and 16 per cent moved because they like the area, both higher percentage figures than rented tenures. Almost one in five (18 per cent) of households owning with a mortgage or a loan state that they would expect to move from their current property within 5 years. Almost three quarters (74 per cent) expect not to move from their current property in the future. Similar to owned-outright households, nearly all (98 per cent) of households owning with a mortgage or a loan state that the type of accommodation they would most like to live in would be an owner occupier property.

Almost one in five (19 per cent) households in private rented accommodation moved to their area to be close to work or employment, a higher percentage figure than other tenures. Only 16 per cent of households in private rented accommodation had a very strong feeling of belonging to their immediate neighbourhood, whilst 43 per cent felt not very strongly or not at all strongly. Over half (53 per cent) of households in private rented accommodation expect to move from their current property within the next 5 years, a percentage much higher than in other tenures. Almost two-thirds (64 per cent) of households in private rented accommodation state that the type of accommodation they would most like to live in would be an owner occupier property. Twelve per cent would most like to live in social rented accommodation and 17 per cent would most like to live in private rented accommodation.

Local authority dwellings and housing association properties show a very similar profile. Almost four in ten (39 per cent) of households in social rented properties rated their neighbourhood as a very good place to live, a percentage which is lower than other tenures. Almost three quarters (74 per cent) expect not to move from their current property in the future. Almost four in ten (39 per cent) of households in social rented accommodation state that the type of accommodation they would most like to live in would be an owner occupier property, with over half (51 per cent) preferring to live in social rented accommodation.

Table 3.5: Views on neighbourhood and housing aspirations, by tenure

Column percentages, 2015 data

	Owner Occupier			Private Rent	Social Rent			Other	All
	Owned outright	Buying with help of loan/mortgage	All		Local authority	Housing association / Co-op / Charitable trust	All
Proportional sizes of sectors*	31	30	61	14	13	10	23	1	100
Reasons for moving to area
To be near family/friends	9	10	9	10	8	11	9	*	9
To be close to work/employment	11	9	10	19	5	5	5	*	11
Change in family/household circumstances / left home	26	25	26	29	36	27	32	*	28
To buy own house/flat or rent place of own	13	23	18	7	9	7	8	*	14
Health reasons, including move to bungalow / flat	3	1	2	1	7	8	7	*	3
Moved to sheltered housing / supported accommodation	0	0	0	0	2	2	2	*	1
Like the area / nice area	16	16	16	12	5	9	7	*	13
Move to the countryside / sea	2	2	2	2	0	0	0	*	1
Good schools	1	3	2	2	0	-	0	*	2
Good services / amenities	2	3	3	2	1	1	1	*	2
Good transport	0	1	1	0	-	-	-	*	0
Wanted a garden / land	2	3	2	1	2	1	1	*	2
Right size / kind of property	30	33	32	19	22	23	22	*	27
Cheaper property	1	2	1	4	2	1	2	*	2
No choice - allocated by council / Housing Association, eviction	1	0	1	3	9	9	9	*	3
To avoid violence / discrimination	1	0	1	1	2	2	2	*	1
Other	2	1	2	5	3	7	5	*	3
Don't know	1	0	0	1	-	0	0	*	0
Base	1,150	1,020	2,170	480	420	370	790	40	3,480
Rating of neighbourhood as a place to live
Very good	68	60	63	48	41	37	39	61	56
Fairly good	30	37	33	46	49	48	48	31	38
Fairly poor	2	3	2	4	7	10	8	5	4
Very poor	1	1	1	1	3	5	4	3	1
No opinion	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	-	0
Strength of belonging to immediate neighbourhood
Very strongly	45	32	38	16	32	30	31	44	34
Fairly strongly	40	48	44	41	45	41	43	37	43
Not very strongly	12	16	14	28	16	18	17	12	16
Not at all strongly	3	3	3	15	7	10	8	5	6
Don't know	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	3	1
Base	3,300	2,640	5,930	1,200	1,250	920	2,160	120	9,410
When the householder expects to move
Within 6 months	1	3	2	12	4	4	4	*	4
Over 6 months to less than 1 year	1	2	2	13	2	4	2	*	3
Over 1 year, less than 2 years	1	5	3	13	5	6	5	*	5
Over 2 years, less than 3 years	2	4	3	10	2	4	3	*	4
Over 3 years, less than 4 years	1	1	1	4	2	1	2	*	2
Over 4 years, less than 5 years	2	3	2	3	2	-	1	*	2
More than 5 years	2	5	3	4	2	0	1	*	3
Don't expect to move	86	74	80	34	76	72	74	*	72
Don't know	4	3	4	9	5	10	7	*	5
Accommodation householder would like to live in
Owner occupier	99	98	99	64	42	35	39	*	79
Local Authority Rent	0	1	1	8	45	7	29	*	9
Housing Association Rent	-	1	0	4	4	47	22	*	6
Private Rent	0	0	0	17	1	3	2	*	3
Sheltered / Supported accommodation	0	-	0	0	4	4	4	*	1
Other	-	-	-	1	0	-	0	*	0
Don't know	0	0	0	6	4	5	4	*	2
Base	1,150	950	2,100	450	440	320	760	40	3,340

* Based on Household sample (base: 10,330)
** Columns may not add up to 100 per cent since multiple responses were allowed

Table 3.6 and Table 3.7 provide information for the year 2015 on housing adaptations and support.

Households owning their property outright (46 per cent) and households in social rented accommodation (59 per cent) were more likely than other tenures to have a member of the household with a physical or mental health condition or illness lasting or expecting to last 12 months or more.

For households with a person with a physical or mental health condition, the most common aspects of their home that limit activities that can be done (based on the question options provided in the Scottish Household Survey) are not being able to get upstairs inside the house (7 per cent) and the bath or shower being difficult to access or use (4 per cent). Of all households with a person with a physical or mental health condition, 87 per cent stated that nothing about the home limited activities that could be done.

One in ten (10 per cent) of households with a person with a physical or mental health condition state that their home requires adaptations to make it easier to go about daily activities.

The most common types of home adaptions already in place for all homes (whether needed or not) are handrails, which are in 9 per cent of all homes, and in 15 per cent of social sector homes. Nearly one in ten (9 per cent) of social sector homes have a specially designed or adapted bath or shower, and 5 per cent of social sector homes have a specially designed or adapted toilet.

Three per cent of all households currently receive a home care worker or home help to help with housework, cooking and cleaning. Two percent of all homes receive a home care worker to help with washing, bathing, dressing etc. Four per cent of homes receive some sort of assistance from a relative, friend or neighbour.

Table 3.6: Limiting activities by tenure

Column percentages, 2015 data

	Owner Occupier			Private Rent	Social Rent			Other	All
	Owned outright	Buying with help of loan/mortgage	All		Local authority	Housing association / Co-op / Charitable trust	All
Proportional sizes of sectors*	31	30	61	14	13	10	23	1	100
Household has someone with a long term physical/mental health condition/illness**
Yes	46	26	36	24	58	60	59	53	40
No	54	74	64	76	42	40	41	47	60
Base	3,550	2,960	6,510	1,330	1,360	1,000	2,350	130	10,330
What about the home limits activities that can be done***
Can't get upstairs inside house	8	3	6	9	7	9	8	*	7
Too small / need more rooms	1	1	1	-	1	0	1	*	1
Can't leave house because of stairs to house	1	1	1	3	1	1	1	*	1
Restricted movement / can't get around the house due to design / layout	1	2	1	-	1	2	1	*	1
Doors too narrow	1	-	1	1	0	-	0	*	0
Rooms too small	-	1	0	-	-	1	0	*	0
Bath / shower difficult to access / use	4	1	3	2	4	7	6	*	4
Toilet difficult to access / use	1	0	1	-	3	1	2	*	1
Electric lights / sockets are difficult to reach / use	1	1	1	-	0	-	0	*	1
Heating controls are difficult to reach / use	0	0	0	-	0	0	0	*	0
Can't open windows	1	0	1	-	1	1	1	*	1
Difficulty answering / opening door	0	1	0	2	1	1	1	*	1
Cupboards / shelves are difficult to reach / use	1	2	1	-	3	0	2	*	1
Can't get into / use garden	1	1	1	2	3	2	3	*	1
Other	1	-	0	-	0	1	0	*	0
None / nothing	86	93	88	90	86	83	84	*	87
Whether the home requires adaptations to make it easier to go about daily activities ***
Yes	11	7	9	9	14	10	12	*	10
No	89	93	90	91	86	89	87	*	89
Don't know	1	-	0	-	1	1	1	*	0
Base	570	290	860	140	250	230	480	20	1,500

* Based on Household sample (base: 10,330)
** A long term condition is defined as lasting or expecting to last for 12 months or more
*** Asked of households with someone with a long term condition/illness
Columns may not add up to 100 due to multiple answers allowed

Table 3.7: Housing adaptations and support, by tenure

Column percentages, 2015 data

	Owner Occupier			Private Rent	Social Rent			Other	All
	Owned outright	Buying with help of loan/mortgage	All		Local authority	Housing association / Co-op / Charitable trust	All
Proportional sizes of sectors*	31	30	61	14	13	10	23	1	100
Home adaptations that are already in place**
Ramps	3	3	3	0	3	2	3	10	2
Door widening	2	2	2	0	2	5	3	3	2
Relocated light switches and power points	1	2	1	0	2	3	2	5	2
Individual alarm systems	2	1	1	0	2	4	3	10	2
Stairlift	2	0	1	0	0	1	1	8	1
Through floor lift	0	-	0	-	0	1	1	-	0
Handrails	12	5	8	4	17	12	15	29	9
Specially designed / adapted kitchen	1	0	0	0	1	1	1	-	1
Specially designed / adapted bathroom / shower	4	2	3	2	9	8	9	12	5
Specially designed / adapted toilet	3	1	2	1	5	4	5	9	2
Door entry phone	3	2	3	7	5	10	7	7	4
Extension to meet disabled person's needs	1	0	0	-	-	0	0	-	0
Special Furniture	1	0	0	-	0	1	1	-	0
Other	0	-	0	1	-	0	0	-	0
None needed / provided	81	85	83	87	74	71	73	57	81
Don't know	1	1	1	1	0	1	1	-	1
Services that household members currently receive
Home care worker / home help (helping with housework, cooking, cleaning)	4	1	2	1	4	6	5	9	3
Home care worker (helping with washing / bathing, dressing toilet)	2	0	1	1	3	4	3	4	2
Meals delivered to home / meals on wheels	0	-	0	0	1	1	1	-	0
Day care / day centre (in hospital, residential home or other organisation)	0	0	0	0	1	2	1	-	1
Respite / short term care in residential / nursing home	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	-	0
Occupational therapy / physiotherapy	1	1	1	0	3	2	2	-	1
Help with shopping	3	1	2	1	4	4	4	8	2
Night care (someone present at night only)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	-	0
Assistance from relative / friend / neighbour	4	2	3	2	9	7	8	10	4
None	92	97	94	96	86	85	86	81	92
Base	1,250	1,080	2,330	500	460	380	840	50	3,710

* Based on Household sample (base: 10,330)
** Asked of households with someone with a long term condition/illness
Columns may not add up to 100 due to multiple answers allowed

3.3 Housing Lists

The number of people on housing lists helps provide an indication of the demand for social housing. In Scotland anyone over the age of 16 has the right to be admitted to a housing list. Since there is no test of particular housing need at the stage that an application is made, housing lists are indicators of demand and not necessarily of housing need.

Housing lists are held by social landlords, local authorities and housing associations, individually or jointly as Common Housing Registers. They can include people who are already in social housing but are seeking a move and in some cases applicants will be on more than one landlord's list. Social landlords are responsible for allocating their housing, in line with their allocation policies and the legislative framework.

The Housing (Scotland) Act 2014 contains provisions intended to support social landlords to allocate and manage their housing in a way which balances the variety of housing needs in their area and gives local communities a greater say in who gets priority for housing.

A question on housing lists was introduced to the SHS in 2013. This question is asked of the random adult ^[27] . Table 3.8 and Table 3.9 present the results for 2015 based on the percentage of respondents who indicated that they were on at least one housing list, whether through a Council, Registered Social Landlord ( RSL) or a Common Housing Register ( CHR).

Table 3.8: Adults on housing lists

Column percentages and population estimates, 2013 to 2015 data

	2013		2014		2015		Difference
	Per cent	Adults	Per cent	Adults	Per cent	Adults	Per cent	Adults
No, not on a housing list	91.9	4,060,000	92.9	4,120,000	94.3	4,210,000	1.4	90,000
Yes, on a housing list	6.4	280,000	6.0	270,000	5.0	220,000	-1.0	-50,000
Don't know/refused	1.7	80,000	1.1	50,000	0.7	30,000	-0.3	-20,000
All*	100	4,416,021	100	4,436,318	100	4,460,738	-	24,420
Base	9,920	-	9,800	-	9,410	-	-	-

* Adult estimates (population aged 16 and over) are from National Records of Scotland

Table 3.9: Households on housing lists

Column percentages and household estimates, 2013 to 2015 data

	2013		2014		2015		Difference
	Per cent	Households	Per cent	Households	Per cent	Households	Per cent	Households
No, not on a housing list	90.9	2,180,000	92.2	2,230,000	94.0	2,290,000	1.7	60,000
Yes, on a housing list	7.3	170,000	6.6	160,000	5.2	130,000	-1.4	-30,000
Don't know/refused	1.8	40,000	1.2	30,000	0.8	20,000	-0.4	-10,000
All*	100	2,401,691	100	2,419,921	100	2,433,956	-	14,035
Base	9,920	-	9,800	-	9,410	-	-	-

* Household estimates are from National Records of Scotland

To convert the SHS estimate into the corresponding number of adults, the SHS percentage is multiplied by the estimated adult population ^[28] . This estimates that there were 220,000 adults in Scotland on housing lists for 2015, a decrease from the estimated 270,000 adults in 2014. It is important to note that this estimate does not include children and that, where an adult is responsible for a child, the child will effectively also be on a housing list.

Housing list statistics are more commonly reported in terms of the number of households on lists rather than the number of adults. Table 3.9 shows that 5.2 per cent of households were on a housing list in 2015. In a similar way to the estimates for adults, this is multiplied by NRS household estimates ^[29] to give an estimate that 130,000 households are on a list. This is a decrease from the estimated 160,000 households in 2014.

Note that the SHS is a sample survey and therefore year on year changes in the number of households on housing lists may be due to sample variation rather than reflecting actual increases or decreases over time. Further information on confidence intervals and statistical significance is given in Annex 3: Confidence Intervals and Statistical Significance.

Also note that the survey data is showing a large decrease in the proportion of adults and households who reported that they were on a housing list in Glasgow between 2013 and 2015. The move by some Glasgow based housing associations to using a choice based letting system, as opposed to a more traditional points based housing list system, may have contributed to some of this reported decrease. The decrease in the Glasgow figures accounts for about one third of the decrease reported at the national level between 2014 and 2015 and most of the decrease reported between 2013 and 2014.

The estimated share of households on a housing list has been calculated based on responses from the random adult but weighted to make it representative of households. This methodology is likely to slightly under-estimate the true figure due to assumptions which are discussed in Annex 2: Glossary.

3.3.1 Other Sources of Housing List Statistics

Housing list statistics are also reported in Housing Statistics for Scotland ( HSfS) ^[30] , which reported that there were 175,333 applicant households on Local Authority or Common Housing Register housing waiting or transfer lists as at 31 March 2015, compared with the estimate of 130,000 from the SHS. The Housing Statistics for Scotland figure will include some double counting of households who are on multiple housing lists. However, it also excludes six Local Authorities (including Glasgow) which have transferred all of their social housing stock to Housing Associations.

Housing lists statistics are also available from an Ipsos MORI Omnibus Survey ^[31] conducted in 2010 and 2011, which reported 144,000 and 128,000 households respectively on lists. The questions asked in this survey were more detailed than the question asked in the SHS and provide information about current and previous experiences of households on housing lists. The Ipsos MORI results were based on sample sizes of around 1,000 adults, so they are less reliable than the SHS results.