Urgent and co-ordination action desperately needed say home builders
Official statistics show that Scotland’s housing emergency is intensifying with further falls in new housing starts and completions across both private and social sectors in the year to the end of September 2025.
Chief Executive of sector body Homes for Scotland (HFS) Jane Wood said:
“These statistics confirm what communities across Scotland are already experiencing first hand. Fewer homes of all tenures are being built year after year while the level of homelessness, social housing waiting lists and the number of children living in temporary accommodation remains unacceptable. This is the stark reality of Scotland’s housing emergency.
“It is deeply concerning that both private and social sector home building are now at or near historic lows. Without a significant uplift in overall supply there is no credible route to addressing the housing needs of this and future generations, tackling affordability pressures and supporting economic growth.
“As we enter a critical election period, all parties must urgently come forward with policies which deliver the homes Scotland needs. We urge all parties to meet our calls to action so that Scotland can reap the wide-ranging social and economic benefits that are available by increasing the supply of sustainable energy-efficient homes across all tenures.
“Despite repeated warnings from our members across the year that the situation would continue to deteriorate without urgent co-ordinated action, these figures clearly show that both the Scottish Government’s affordable housing targets and the Cabinet Secretary for Housing’s recently stated ambition to increase all-tenure housing delivery by 10 percent year-on-year are slipping further out of reach.
“We now desperately need to see new deliverable housing sites expedited, infrastructure delivery support for SME home builders and a pause on further regulatory burdens that add cost and delay to new delivery.
“With the Scottish Budget fast approaching next month, it is essential that any increased capital consequential funding coming to Scotland is used to confirm multi-year funding commitments to the Affordable Housing Supply Programme which has seen approvals fall significantly as a result of previous budget cuts made in the 2023-2024 Scottish Budget. Support for First Time Buyers and increases to the planning budget are also required to ensure resource and capacity is increased. HFS and its members stand ready to work with the Scottish Government and local authorities to reverse this decline and deliver the high-quality energy efficient all-tenure homes that Scotland urgently needs.”
ENDS