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Housing bodies in Scotland say the referendum outcome has huge implications for housing and welfare policy in Scotland, but neither yes or no camps outlined clearly what those implications are during the run up to the vote.

Both the Chartered Institute of Housing Scotland (CIH) and the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) said they looked forward to working with Scottish and Westminster government to thrash out how the new political landscape will affect housing.

David Ogilvie, CIH Scotland’s head of policy and public affairs, said: “Before the referendum, more than three-quarters of the CIH members we surveyed in Scotland told us that neither side of the debate had clearly explained the implications for the future of housing.

"This needs to change.

The current division of powers and policies around housing and welfare is contradictory and unstable and requires change - Mary Taylor

"In this country there are currently around 185,000 people on the social housing waiting list and according to the Poverty and Social Exclusion project nearly one million Scots cannot afford adequate housing.

“We therefore need the Scottish Government to move quickly to set out clear plans for housing in Scotland – it is simply too fundamental an issue to ignore."

Mary Taylor, chief executive of the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) said the body was looking for a “new and sensible settlement in Scotland” around the welfare agenda as a matter of priority.

“The current division of powers and policies around housing and welfare is contradictory and unstable and requires change,” she said.

Taylor added: “We want to see Scottish housing, health, taxation, welfare, job creating powers and other social policies operating together to enable people in Scotland to be able to afford to eat as well as heat their home and sustain their tenancy.”