Preventative tenancy sustainment work is now more important than ever for community-based housing associations, due to the financial and other pressures facing people, according to a new report.
Launching a short report on their members’ community development activities, the Glasgow and West of Scotland Forum of Housing Associations (GWSF) says that the importance of this work is now more likely to be reflected in business plan priorities and in the core funding – i.e. rental income – used to employ community development staff.
The changing nature of associations’ activities in the community was captured by an association, which said that “in the past we’d look to deliver employability-focused projects which provided scope for opportunities to increase income and prospects. However, many people are now so far away from employment that our projects’ main aims are improving poor mental health and self-esteem to get people to a position to leave their homes and engage in community services”.
GWSF policy and research lead Colleen Rowan, who compiled the report, emphasised the ongoing importance of external funding to complement what associations themselves contribute: “The report lists a significant number of local and regional funding sources which different member associations benefit from. But our members know that overall there is less funding available and greater competition for it – it’s a long time since housing associations had a dedicated fund (from the then Communities Scotland).
“We’ll continue to promote the immense value of our members’ community development work and to urge Ministers to provide appropriate funding from April 2026, after the current Investing in Communities Fund ends.
“Despite these funding concerns, the appetite for doing more in terms of community development remains strong within community-based associations, who continue to make a real difference to their tenants and wider communities.”