The immediacy of the need for housing has meant that Travellers have been allocated what is available then and there rather than retaining the ability to be on a waiting list for housing of their choice. Accordingly, Travellers have ended up in low demand housing which is, by its very nature, readily available. This, added to Traveller desire to stay within their own community, has led to ghettoisation in larger towns within Scotland where, in effect, 'a Traveller area' has been created. With the changing face of social housing, it is felt that the same recognition should be granted to Travellers by all social landlords. Local authorities should strive within their allocation policies to reflect the particular needs of Travellers to prevent their lifestyle disadvantaging their right to decent accommodation.
Accommodation is the fundamental issue which dictates their ability to benefit from other services.
For council house tenants there are no restrictions on having visitors or the length of time they stay. Yet, for Travellers on sites, this simple freedom to socialise, which settled people take for granted, is often denied. Some have experienced even monitoring of their visitors at the site entrance. On some popular sites space is at a premium so pitches for guests' caravans may be limited or even not available. Some flexibility with regard to accommodating extra caravans, especially of close relatives, has been found to produce satisfied and co-operative tenants and leads to a well run site.