Scotland faces housing shortfall of up to 100,000 new homes, report finds
Homes for Scotland chief executive Nicola Barclay said the shortfall is 12 per cent less than pre-2008 recession levels.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Scotland is suffering from a chronic housing shortage of about 100,000 new homes, according to a report.
The lack of new housing is a result of a “consistent undersupply” over more than a decade, industry body Homes for Scotland (HFS) has said.
The group represents 200 member organisations with an aim to deliver more homes for the country.
It has called on the Scottish Government for an all-tenure target of at least 25,000 new homes per year – the minimum quantity the group believes is needed to meet with current demand.
HSF’s chief executive Nicola Barclay said the current shortfall figure is 12% less than pre-2008 recession levels.
The hugely positive impact that having a decent home has on people’s daily lives and the environment in which we live cannot be understated
In an HFS report released on Thursday, authors said local authorities and government should recognise the additional social and economic potential new homes have at a regional and national level.
Based on figures from 2019, the year prior to the Covid pandemic when approximately 22,500 new homes were built, they said in just one year the country has missed out on benefits that include £52 million of local infrastructure investment which could have been spent on education, health and community facilities, as well as support for over 8,000 jobs.
The report, titled Social and Economic Benefits of Home Building in Scotland, also spoke about the gain that could be achieved by increasing new housing from 22,500 to 25,000 a year.
It said this would result in improved access to fit-for-purpose, energy-efficient accommodation for thousands of additional households, an enhanced quality of living with additional investment in community facilities, affordable housing and infrastructure and increased economic output of £300 million.
HFS said these benefits are in addition to the £500 million already paid in developer contributions annually for affordable housing, community facilities and infrastructure; the 79,000 jobs the home building sector currently supports; and the more than £3 billion that it generates in terms of economic output.
“As the 2019 figures show, although we have been making progress towards the 25,000 homes of all tenures that we believe is necessary, there remains a significant housing gap,” Ms Barclay said.
“The impact of reduced output due to Covid and supply chain issues during 2020 and 2021 has only exacerbated this situation.”
She said as well as fuelling house price inflation, the shortage of new homes is causing regional disparities and preventing people from “getting on and leading fulfilling and independent lives.”
Ms Barclay added: “What I hope the report clearly illustrates is that housing cannot be viewed in isolation.
“The hugely positive impact that having a decent home has on people’s daily lives and the environment in which we live cannot be understated.
“Scotland already derives so much benefit from home building but there is still so much more potential to maximise. Now is the time for us all to support the delivery of more homes and commit to an all-tenure target of 25,000 homes per year.”
In response, a Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Scotland has led the way in the delivery of affordable housing across the UK with more than 105,750 affordable homes delivered since 2007, over 73,000 of which were for social rent.
“Homes have never been simply bricks and mortar – good housing and homes support our health, our wellbeing, our life chances and our job prospects.
“Everyone should have a home that brings those opportunities and that is why we’ve set a target to deliver 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, of which at least 70% will be available for social rent and 10% will be in our remote, rural and island communities.
“Delivering this ambitious target would support a total investment package of around £18 billion and up to 15,000 jobs each year.”