Scotland’s housing emergency is set to deepen as statistics published today show Q1 all-sector starts falling to their lowest level since 1996 and completions at their lowest since 2013.
Between financial years 2023/24 and 2024/25, starts and completions across all sectors fell by eleven and four per cent respectively – representing the third successive period in which the number of homes started across all tenures has fallen.
With the figures also revealing that two-thirds of Scotland’s local authorities experienced declines in new housing delivery in 2024/25, Jane Wood, Chief Executive at sector body Homes for Scotland (HFS), whose members deliver the majority of the country’s new homes of all tenures, said:
“It is now over a year since the Scottish Parliament recognised that Scotland was in the grips of a devastating housing emergency, during which time the numbers of homeless and children living in temporary accommodation has reached record levels.
“Housing starts and completions are the simplest form of evidence which we can use to track Scotland’s response to addressing the housing emergency and unfortunately today’s statistics only confirm the concerns that the home building sector has been raising for years. The regulatory environment in Scotland is stifling the delivery of new homes rather than supporting it and the sector is still awaiting the policy intervention from the Scottish Government that is required to make a real difference.
“This is especially important for our SME home builders who are critical to delivering high-quality new homes on brownfield land and rural communities, yet we know that their number has declined by two-thirds since 2008, with 9 in 10 SMEs citing that government policies are making it harder for them to build.
“The recently published Housing Investment Taskforce report, the recommendations of which the Scottish Government has confirmed it will take forward, recognises the need for bold, co-ordinated and interventionist action across a range of issues such as planning reform, infrastructure delivery and long-term funding commitments for the affordable housing supply programme. With housing now promoted to a standalone portfolio in the Scottish Government alongside a new Cabinet Secretary for Housing, the sector needs to see this reform delivered at pace. Clarity on the outcomes of previously announced measures such as the Planning Hub for Housing and resolution on the significant number of stalled housing sites across the country is also urgently required.
“As ever, HFS and its members stand ready to play their part in increasing the supply of high-quality, energy efficient and affordable homes across all tenures to tackle the housing emergency and provide their crucial expertise on how Scotland’s regulatory framework can deliver rather than block the new homes so desperately needed by Scotland’s people. We look forward to meeting the new Cabinet Secretary to discuss this and understand what the Scottish Government’s key priorities will be going forward.”
ENDS