Ariane Burgess, Scottish Green MSP for the Highlands & Islands, is marking Scottish Housing Day 2025 by celebrating the power of community-led housing to transform lives and neighbourhoods.
This year’s theme, “Everyone Needs Good Neighbours,” puts the spotlight on how strong communities contribute to better wellbeing, affordability, and sustainability in housing.
“As we mark ten years of Scottish Housing Day, it’s clear that good housing is about more than bricks and mortar,” said Ms Burgess.
“It’s about people, place, and empowerment.”
She believes Scotland can lead the way with bold reforms in the upcoming Housing Bill, backing cooperative housing, placemaking, and community ownership as long-term solutions.
From cohousing initiatives to housing cooperatives, Scotland is seeing a quiet revolution in how neighbourhoods are built and lived in.
Projects like Hope Cohousing in Orkney are giving older people the chance to live independently while staying connected to a supportive community, offering affordability and a way to tackle isolation.
To further support this growing movement, Burgess is calling for housing cooperatives to be exempt from Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, a change she says would “remove a barrier and help more groups take ownership of their housing futures.”
Scotland has already laid important groundwork.
The Community Empowerment Act of 2015 opened the door to local regeneration through asset transfers and targeted funding, giving people the tools to shape their own places.
Thanks to Green budget wins, funding is in place for community housing enablers who work across Scotland, especially in rural areas, helping communities bring housing ideas to life.
“These enablers are vital,” said Burgess.
“They unlock local potential and ensure no community is left behind.”
Placemaking is also central to her vision, with a focus on compact, walkable neighbourhoods where homes sit near schools, shops, and green spaces.
“Local living isn’t just a policy, it’s a promise to build neighbourhoods where people can thrive,” she said.
She wants to see more town centre flats brought back into use, particularly properties above shops through retrofitting and new powers like compulsory sales and rental orders.
Such measures, she says, would boost housing supply while reviving high streets across the country.
Burgess is urging the Scottish Government to embrace cooperative and community-led housing models in its long-term plans.
“Let’s celebrate the neighbours, communities, and cooperatives that are building a better Scotland, one home at a time.”
