Scottish Housing Day 2024!

Scottish Housing Day is back for the ninth year and takes place on Wednesday 18 September 2024 with a focus on Homes for Life.

The day is intended to raise awareness of challenges and successes in the housing sector and raise people’s awareness of their housing options.

This year, Scottish Housing Day will focus on Homes for Life and we are encouraging people to think about how the housing sector can better support people in later life as needs and priorities change.

Our population is ageing faster in Scotland than in the rest of the UK, and as people grow older their housing needs can change. This might require some simple adaptations to make homes more accessible, technology to support day-to-day activities, or planning to move to a more suitable home that’s closer to family or local amenities, or easier to manage.

Age Scotland’s National Housing Survey 2023 survey found that:

• 37 per cent of respondents didn’t think that their home would be suitable in the next ten years.
• 20 per cent said they needed an adaptation to their home and over half of these had waited more than four months.

Many people don’t think about their housing needs or plan for the future, and that it may not always be easy to find the right information and advice about housing or other support that’s available. This year, Ark want to encourage our tenants to think about housing in later life as we participate in a nationwide discussion on housing needs and how we can plan for the future – as individuals, communities, housing organisations and policy makers.

Ark and Homes for Life

The recently completed development at Crusader Rise in Livingston is an example of the Scottish Government's Housing to 2040 policy's ambition of creating Homes for Life in practice. All ground floor properties have been fully adapted with features such as fully accessible bathrooms and height adjustable kitchen units and worktops. The houses have been designed with possible ground floor shower conversions possible and first floor flats also designed with limited mobility in mind.  

If you are having difficulties in your home as your needs have changed, please speak to your Housing & Neighbourhood Services Officer who can advise what options may be available to you!