Background and Overview
3.The Housing (Scotland) Act carries forward the proposals for legislative change which were set out in the Scottish Executive’s consultation paper Better Homes for Scotland’s Communities – the Executive’s Proposals for the Housing Bill, which was published in July 2000. The Act contains provisions covering a number of areas relating to the Executive’s overall policy objectives for housing, including provisions in relation to homelessness, tenancy rights, regulation of the socially rented sector, and the roles and responsibilities of the Scottish Ministers, local authorities, Scottish Homes and other bodies. The Act builds on the existing legislative framework, the majority of which dates back to the 1980s. The Housing Associations Act 1985, the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 (“the 1987 Act”) and the Housing (Scotland) Act 1988 (“the 1988 Act”) are the main pieces of legislation amended or affected by this Act. The provisions in the Act will in the main impact most directly on the socially rented sector, but the Act also provides a framework for addressing issues across all housing tenures.
4.The Act is divided into 7 Parts, some of which are subdivided into Chapters, as follows:
	Part 1: Homelessness and allocation of housing
	Part 2: Tenants of social landlordsChapter 1: Scottish secure tenanciesChapter 2: Right to buyChapter 3: Tenant participation
	Part 3: Regulation of social landlordsChapter 1: Registered social landlordsChapter 2: Local authority housing managementChapter 3: Common provisionsChapter 4: Interpretation of Part 3
	Part 4: Scottish Homes
	Part 5: Strategic housing functions
	Part 6: Grants for improvement, repairs etc
	Part 7: Miscellaneous and general