SOCIAL HOUSING ALLOCATION IN SCOTLAND: THE ADVERSE SELECTION ISSUES

Since the social housing in Scotland is delivered through the public purse, ideally, the social landlords should allocate their stock efficiently to the right recipients. However, a social landlord may occasionally be subjected to adverse selection situations when applicants withhold certain informa...

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Published in:Planning Malaysia
Main Author: Mahamood N.M.; MacGregor B.; Schulz R.; Majid R.A.; Wan Rodi W.N.
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Malaysian Institute Of Planners 2023
Online Access:https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85164367974&doi=10.21837%2fpm.v21i26.1269&partnerID=40&md5=c5daea63ab8e61b68ff99fa781b0cf80
id 2-s2.0-85164367974
spelling 2-s2.0-85164367974
Mahamood N.M.; MacGregor B.; Schulz R.; Majid R.A.; Wan Rodi W.N.
SOCIAL HOUSING ALLOCATION IN SCOTLAND: THE ADVERSE SELECTION ISSUES
2023
Planning Malaysia
21
2
10.21837/pm.v21i26.1269
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85164367974&doi=10.21837%2fpm.v21i26.1269&partnerID=40&md5=c5daea63ab8e61b68ff99fa781b0cf80
Since the social housing in Scotland is delivered through the public purse, ideally, the social landlords should allocate their stock efficiently to the right recipients. However, a social landlord may occasionally be subjected to adverse selection situations when applicants withhold certain information during the social housing application. Within the information theory spectrum, adverse selection stems from the belief that humans tend to act opportunistically by putting their self-interest first above others' interest. While there is ample evidence of vast adaptation of the information theory in different fields and sectors, there is still a remaining gap in the information theory application in understanding the actors' interaction in the social housing sector. By utilising semistructured interviews with the housing officers from one case study, ten (10) housing officers from the case study in Aberdeen participated to share their views and experience during the pre-allocation stage. Three (3) broad themes were discovered which consist of withholding information, exploiting the loophole in the system and finally, lack of ways in verifying the information. Data has been analysed through a combination of thematic and content analysis. The thematic analysis primarily aims to establish common themes across settings. The content analysis is employed to support the thematic analysis by conducting a textual investigation and subsequently establishing the frequencies of the event shared by the housing officers. The findings yielded some noteworthy results that signified the matters commonly manipulated by the applicants, leading to adverse selection situations during the pre-allocation stage. It produces critical insights on the issues that the social landlord should thoroughly assess during the pre-allocation stage in improving their allocation practice. Predominantly, helping them to meet the right target recipients in the social housing allocation. © 2023 by MIP.
Malaysian Institute Of Planners
16756215
English
Article
All Open Access; Hybrid Gold Open Access
author Mahamood N.M.; MacGregor B.; Schulz R.; Majid R.A.; Wan Rodi W.N.
spellingShingle Mahamood N.M.; MacGregor B.; Schulz R.; Majid R.A.; Wan Rodi W.N.
SOCIAL HOUSING ALLOCATION IN SCOTLAND: THE ADVERSE SELECTION ISSUES
author_facet Mahamood N.M.; MacGregor B.; Schulz R.; Majid R.A.; Wan Rodi W.N.
author_sort Mahamood N.M.; MacGregor B.; Schulz R.; Majid R.A.; Wan Rodi W.N.
title SOCIAL HOUSING ALLOCATION IN SCOTLAND: THE ADVERSE SELECTION ISSUES
title_short SOCIAL HOUSING ALLOCATION IN SCOTLAND: THE ADVERSE SELECTION ISSUES
title_full SOCIAL HOUSING ALLOCATION IN SCOTLAND: THE ADVERSE SELECTION ISSUES
title_fullStr SOCIAL HOUSING ALLOCATION IN SCOTLAND: THE ADVERSE SELECTION ISSUES
title_full_unstemmed SOCIAL HOUSING ALLOCATION IN SCOTLAND: THE ADVERSE SELECTION ISSUES
title_sort SOCIAL HOUSING ALLOCATION IN SCOTLAND: THE ADVERSE SELECTION ISSUES
publishDate 2023
container_title Planning Malaysia
container_volume 21
container_issue 2
doi_str_mv 10.21837/pm.v21i26.1269
url https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85164367974&doi=10.21837%2fpm.v21i26.1269&partnerID=40&md5=c5daea63ab8e61b68ff99fa781b0cf80
description Since the social housing in Scotland is delivered through the public purse, ideally, the social landlords should allocate their stock efficiently to the right recipients. However, a social landlord may occasionally be subjected to adverse selection situations when applicants withhold certain information during the social housing application. Within the information theory spectrum, adverse selection stems from the belief that humans tend to act opportunistically by putting their self-interest first above others' interest. While there is ample evidence of vast adaptation of the information theory in different fields and sectors, there is still a remaining gap in the information theory application in understanding the actors' interaction in the social housing sector. By utilising semistructured interviews with the housing officers from one case study, ten (10) housing officers from the case study in Aberdeen participated to share their views and experience during the pre-allocation stage. Three (3) broad themes were discovered which consist of withholding information, exploiting the loophole in the system and finally, lack of ways in verifying the information. Data has been analysed through a combination of thematic and content analysis. The thematic analysis primarily aims to establish common themes across settings. The content analysis is employed to support the thematic analysis by conducting a textual investigation and subsequently establishing the frequencies of the event shared by the housing officers. The findings yielded some noteworthy results that signified the matters commonly manipulated by the applicants, leading to adverse selection situations during the pre-allocation stage. It produces critical insights on the issues that the social landlord should thoroughly assess during the pre-allocation stage in improving their allocation practice. Predominantly, helping them to meet the right target recipients in the social housing allocation. © 2023 by MIP.
publisher Malaysian Institute Of Planners
issn 16756215
language English
format Article
accesstype All Open Access; Hybrid Gold Open Access
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