The Scottish housing quality standard will have little impact on fuel poverty or emission levels, the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations has warned.

The SFHA said the standard was set at “such low levels” it meant the Scottish executive was preventing associations from playing a “full part” in a sustainable development strategy.

Misia Jack, policy and practice officer at the SFHA, said: “The key to turning the Scottish executive’s principles into practice is the integration of sustainability as a way of thinking into … all the executive’s policies and legislation.”

She added that the standard was not demanding enough, given that buildings account for more than 50% of CO2 emissions.

Introducing “whole-life costs” to the standard’s funding system would help associations build more environmentally friendly homes, she said.

Source

Housing Today