1. Lessons from survey research on improving housing conditions Scotstat Survey Conference Tuesday 16 March 2010 Lorna Fleming

2. Rationale Image: www.independent.co.uk Image: www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk

3. Purpose of survey Are there differences between the barriers faced by owner occupiers and those faced by private landlords who own housing in need of repair in the Falkirk Council area? Does evidence support the use of separate assistance and enforcement policies for private landlords and owner occupiers, to improve housing conditions?

4. Research Methods (1) Supplementing the LHCS Owner Occupied House Physical condition data (LHCS) Owner occupiers views on barriers to disrepair and usefulness of potential LA assistance (LHCS) Private Rented House Physical condition data (LHCS) Landlords views on barriers to disrepair and usefulness of potential LA assistance (self completion postal questionnaire)

5. Research Methods (2) physical condition of properties (secondary data) attitudes of owners (secondary data) attitudes of landlords (primary data)  Descriptive statistics, weighting & grossing  Tested null hypotheses – e.g there is no significant difference between o/occs & l/lords.  Repeated tests when independent variables isolated (eg house type, condition)

6. Learning Points Things I would do differently…. Focus group to avoid ‘designing out’ issues Consider implications of a low response rate: small sample = wide confidence intervals Begin with more detailed hypotheses and plan how to test the null hypotheses Seek advice from the experts earlier Simplify questions Be more aware of complexity of analysing data from a disproportionate stratified sample

7. Findings Awareness of disrepair Barriers to carrying out repairs (eg financial, agreeing communal work, finding trusted traders, identifying work) Willingness to invest Format of info & advice Demand for practical assistance (e.g organising communal repairs, hiring contractors, inspection services)

8. Conclusions Awareness gap + low demand for inspection services = need education/ awareness raising Financial barriers reduce relevance of practical assistance for some owners Findings informative but other sources of evidence important too - triangulation

9. Questions & Discussion Has anyone done similar work? What are other people’s findings in this area? What potential sources of bias and / or error would have been important in this survey? Is this kind of survey design worth replicating?