Rise still not enough to meet demand

Scotland has a long way to go to meet affordable housing targets despite a 21% rise in new builds, according to a leading housing charity.

Official statistics show 8,767 affordable homes were delivered for the year to September 2018, a 21% increase on the 7,271 completions in the previous year.

Figures also showed there were 5,340 social rented homes delivered, an increase of 864 homes, or 19%.

Despite the significant rise, Graeme Brown, director of Shelter Scotland, said the figures prove the Scottish Government has a long way to go to meet its housing targets.

He said: “The programme to develop 35,000 new homes for social rent by 2021 is one of the most important projects on the Scottish Government’s agenda.

“The latest figures show that with half the time gone only 11,825 social homes have been completed to date. This leaves much of the target on the drawing board and Means we will have to see an acceleration in building if the target is to be."

Brown added: “The more homes programme is a promise to Scotland that must not be broken. It represents the biggest investment in social housing since the 1970s and a chance to begin to restore the foundations of our housing safety net which has been badly damaged by decades of underinvestment.”

The rise included increases in housing association completions (25% or 618 homes) and local authority completions (25% or 306 homes), while private-led completions fell by 229 homes (2%). The total number of social sector completions (housing association and local authority starts combined) increased by 924 homes (25%).

Kevin Stewart MSP said: “While we know this is an ambitious target, we have shown we can deliver on housing and we will continue to do so.”