New social housing construction in Scotland has fallen to its lowest level in almost 30 years, intensifying concerns amid the country’s ongoing housing emergency. Statistics published by the Scottish Government reveal that overall housebuilding has slowed, with a 5% drop in new starts and an 8% decline in completions over the past year.
The most severe downturn has been in the social housing sector, where work began on just 3,031 homes in the year to September – the lowest figure recorded in nearly three decades. This slump comes despite the Scottish Government’s longstanding commitment to significantly expand affordable housing supply.
Ministers previously pledged to deliver 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, with 70% of these designated for social rent. Yet figures up to the end of September show that only 31,064 of these homes have been completed so far, while both new starts and approvals are moving in the wrong direction.
The latest statistics show that approvals within the Affordable Housing Supply Programme are now 55% below their most recent peak in 2019. There has also been a 21% year‑on‑year fall in affordable homes beginning construction in the year to April, dropping from 6,895 to 5,424.
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Housing secretary Mairi McAllan stressed that there have been recent signs of improvement within the quarterly data. She said: “I strongly welcome that these statistics show a 61% increase in approvals, and an 18% increase in starts of affordable homes.
“Despite these successes, there is still much to do and I am determined that we now step up our efforts.”
Homelessness charity Shelter Scotland acknowledged the short‑term increases in approvals and starts, but warned that delivery remains “too slow” for thousands of families in urgent need. Director Alison Watson said that to deliver the remaining 79,000 affordable homes on time, ministers must move faster, invest more money and explore alternative delivery models, highlighting that 10,180 children are set to spend Christmas in temporary accommodation.
