ABSTRACT
Introduction Local authorities in the UK built over six million dwellings in the twentieth century, and for part of that century a majority of Scots lived in council housing. This housing, it was understood, was for local people. It may not have been for the poorest – there was no comprehensive system of housing allowances until 1972 – but it most certainly was for people who could claim a local connection. Typically, the housing was allocated on the basis of length of time on the waiting list, and a household could only get a place on that list if they were local.
