NEW statistics show Scotland’s housing crisis intensifying with decreases across both the number of new homes of all tenures being started and completed.
Scottish Government figures published today for the year to end September 2023 show that there has been a six per cent fall in all sector completions and that starts have plummeted 24 per cent.
The statistics follow in the wake of three Scottish Local Authorities declaring housing emergencies during 2023. Over the period in question, Edinburgh and Glasgow councils have seen decreases of 23% and 46% respectively in the number of new homes started compared to the year previous.
Jane Wood, Chief Executive of sector body Homes for Scotland (HFS), which represents members delivering the majority of the country’s new homes of all tenures, said:
“The downward trend in housing starts has now been sustained across three years and clearly evidences the growing challenge for those in need of a home that meets their requirements.
“With today’s housing starts representing future completions, the figures starkly illustrate that the housing inequality being experienced across the country will become even more acute..
“If the numbers tell us anything it is that the policy environment that surrounds the delivery of new homes requires urgent evidence-based reassessment. Private investment must be actively encouraged and welcomed with the recognition that this goes hand in hand with Affordable Housing objectives.”
