The available evidence on housing conditions reveals that housing conditions are relatively worse in rural areas (especially in remote districts) in Scotland, and that improvement policies have been relatively more successful in urban areas. The central theme that this thesis attempts to address is, therefore, to examine the reasons why housing in rural Scotland is in such a poor condition, relative to urban areas. Since rehabilitation policies have been so effective in eradicating urban housing problems, a focus of the research is an examination of the implementation and effectiveness of rehabilitation policy in Rural Scotland. Indeed, although there is a national improvement policy framework, there is a great deal of potential for local variation. The research aims, therefore, to highlight features that contribute to the variations in the implementation of improvement policy, particularly between urban and rural areas in Scotland. The research examines the implementation of rehabilitation policy by local authorities through an analysis of six case-study rural districts: Argyll and Bute, Clydesdale, Gordon, Skye and Lochalsh, Sutherland, and Tweeddale. It also examines the involvement of housing associations in rural areas, both generally, and in terms of their rehabilitation activities. A subsidiary aim is to elucidate the factors which relate to an individual household's propensity to repair and improve the home in Rural Scotland. This is achieved through analysis of a questionnaire carried out with 364 households living in Rural Scotland.