Despite extra funding from the Scottish Government, the crisis shows no sign of abating
Scotland’s housing crisis shows no sign of abating after research revealed around 7,000 fewer homes a year are being built than needed.
The study, by the BBC, found there was a 5,000 shortfall in the number of new homes built last year. The figure rises to 7,000 if the extra homes needed to catch up with the backlog are included.
Campaigners say at least 23,000 new homes a year are needed.
That figure rises to 25,000 if you add in extra homes needed to catch up with the backlog - but in the year to last October, only 18,000 homes were built.
The shortfall comes on the back of the existing Scottish programme to build 50,000 affordable homes during the five years of the current parliament.
Sally Thomas, the chief executive of the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations said: “While the finding of a 7,000 annual shortage in new housing is a wake-up call, it is not a complete shock. We know that many people now struggle to buy a home, as house prices have increased much faster than average wages, and private renting has tripled since 1999, leading to an affordability gap.”
The Scottish government says 80,000 affordable homes have been delivered since 2007 and the rate of progress is improving with 5,340 social rented homes delivered in 2018 - a 19% increase on the previous year.
But the number of new homes aren’t matching demand.
Figures show over 400,000 more people live in Scotland now than they did in 2001 with nearly a third of people now living alone further increasing the pressure on housing stock.
SFHA called on planning and land system reform and reform of the housing system so that a range of high quality affordable housing is available to meet people’s changing needs throughout their lives.
Thomas added: “These figures clearly demonstrate that there must be continued investment to fund social and affordable housing beyond the current parliament, and we are calling on all political parties to commit to this.”
