ScotGov-backed affordable home starts slump to lowest level in 12 years

The Herald Scotland

4 days ago

It is 8105 fewer than the number started in 2019/20 before the pandemic and the lowest since 2012/13 when there were 4685 starts.
It is the lowest number of starts since 2012/13 when 4685 affordable homes were begun and had come in the wake of huge cuts to Scottish Government budget for affordable homes.
Affordable home completions dropped by 22% in a year to 7,444 in 2024/25. That is the lowest number since 2015/16 when 6445 were completed.
It comes as the Scottish Government is seeking to deliver 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, of which 70% were to be for social rent and 10% for rural and island communities.
As of March, 31, this year some 28,537 affordable homes have been completed towards the target.
The Herald revealed in 2023 how professional standards body CIH had raised concerns over cuts to the budget and warned progress on homelessness is at risk without a funding commitment over rapid rehousing in permanent homes rather than in temporary accommodation.
In the wake of the Scottish Government making a symbolic housing emergency declaration in mid-May, last year the key housing professionals group had said that while it is a start, it was not enough as the affordable homes budget, a key part of the Scottish Government bid to end the crisis lost more than £300m over the previous two years alone.
The Herald's charter for change in a housing and homelessness emergency (Image: Housing campaign) But in December, John Swinney has reversed a near £200m annual cut to the provision of affordable homes although campaigners said it still fell short of what is needed to end the housing and homelessness crisis.
The Herald's seven-point charter for change to help end Scotland's housing emergency launched in July, last year, included a call to cut the number of children living in temporary accommodation and a significant increase in the building of affordable homes.
The Scottish Tenants Organisation said the drops in affordable housing starts were "a disaster" with thousands on the housing waiting lists in Scotland and thousands more homeless and struggling to survive.
"The Scottish Government have got to make affordable housing and especially social rented homes it's number one priority by increasing spending on building houses to many hundreds of millions of pounds as at the current time this SNP Government is badly failing the tenants and homeless people of Scotland.
"We need action now."
New official analysis further shows that the number of all new housebuilding starts continued to drop in 2024/25 after and is at its lowest since 2012/13 with 15,053 begun in the last financial year.
Some 13 of Scotland's 32 councils declared housing emergencies since Argyll and Bute Council became the first in June, 2023.
It comes as the number of small and medium size (SME) home builders has fallen to its lowest level in 20 years.
Red tape and rising costs are highlighted as key issues, with nearly 9 in 10 survey respondents saying government policies are making it harder for them to build, according to sector body Homes for Scotland.
Earlier this month the First Minister urged the UK Government to take more action and spend more money to address Scotland's housing crisis.
Two weeks ago the First Minister was subsequently challenged to finally fix Scotland's housing emergency after the UK Government announced a multi-billion pound investment to build more affordable homes.
The Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed that £39 billion will be spent over the next 10 years in England to boost the supply of properties available for social and mid-market rent.
The Chancellor announced the Scottish Government will receive £52 billion in total over the next three years, which means an additional £9 billion for Holyrood by 2029.
That came as it was announced Mairi McAllan would serve as the new Cabinet Secretary for Housing after receiving constant criticism in slumps in new build properties at a time of rising homelessness.