Number of affordable homes being built needs to be doubled, report finds

Scotland needs to see an “almost doubling” of the number of affordable homes being built, campaigners have insisted, as a new report found more than 15,000 such properties are needed per year over the next five years.

With Housing Secretary Mairi McAllan due to unveil plans to tackle the country’s housing emergency, ministers were told a “step change” in action is now needed.

That plea came as research for Shelter Scotland, the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) Scotland and the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) found that the country needs 15,693 new affordable homes every year between 2026 and 2031.

This would cost “in the region of £8 billion to £9.2 billion”, the report added.

And it said that the number of homes that are required would “necessitate a significant increase in the nominal Scottish affordable housing delivery target of 10,000 homes per annum”.

The research, carried out by the University of Liverpool, and Sheffield Hallam University said this was because of factors such as increased levels of homelessness and more people being “inadequately housed” in the private rental sector

However, Callum Chomczuk, national director of CIH Scotland, pointed out that in 2024 Scotland “only delivered 8,188 homes” – saying that an “almost doubling” of this was needed.

As such, he said there would need to be a “step change in how we deliver and fund social housing in Scotland”.

Official figures showed an increase in the number of households who were assessed as being either homeless or threatened with homelessness, with this rising to 17,424 in the six months covering April to September last year.

Alison Watson, director of the housing charity Shelter Scotland, said: “Today, 10,360 children are trapped in temporary accommodation, and 2.3 million adults are impacted by Scotland’s housing emergency.

“Scotland urgently needs an action plan with long-term investment to fix a broken and biased system.

SFHA chief executive Sally Thomas said: “The research is clear: ending the housing emergency is going to require building a lot more social homes and a radical and sustained increase in the housing budget.

“Put simply, we need around 15,693 social and affordable homes per year and total public investment of at least £8.2 billion over the course of the next parliament.”

Speaking ahead of her statement, the Housing Secretary said: “Despite the challenges of Brexit, austerity and the cost of living, we already have a strong record in affordable housing, having supported the delivery of 139,000 affordable homes since 2007 – 47% more per head than England, and 73% more than in Wales.

“Since we declared a housing emergency, we have taken 2,700 children out of temporary accommodation and into a permanent home, up to December 2024. Figures out today also show we have brought a record number of empty homes back into use this year.

“However, we must go further and faster.

“The plan I set out today will demonstrate how we do that – with direct and immediate action to tackle the housing emergency, strong support for vulnerable communities and significant action to create the optimum conditions for confidence and growth in our housing sector.

“My plan will deliver positive and lasting change and critical to its success will be private and public sectors working together to tackle the housing emergency.”