New Housing Supply Dips but Affordable Housing Investment on the Rise
Scotland’s Chief Statistician released new housing data for 2023–24. New supply falls while funds add support to affordable and social housing.
Decline in Housing Supply
Data shows housing supply dropped by 16.4%. Scotland added 20,364 new homes in 2023–24. Last year had 24,348 new homes. Most homes—97.9% or 19,943 units—came as new builds. Rehabilitations brought 57 units. Net conversions added 364 homes.
This drop makes it hard to meet future needs. Scotland holds about 2.7 million dwellings. Around 60% are owner‐occupied. About 23% are social rented. Nearly 13.2% are private rented or rent free. Some 3.7% stay vacant or serve as second homes.
Growth in Social Housing
Social housing made gains this year. By March 31, 2024, the social housing stock grew by 6,102 units to a total of 633,030. Local authorities manage 325,477 homes. Housing associations account for 307,553.
Supportive housing for older people grew by 1.2%. Housing for people with physical disabilities fell by 1.2%.
Council Lettings and Housing Demand
Councils arranged 25,423 permanent lettings this year. That marks a 7.5% rise from the previous year. Almost half of these places went to homeless households.
Households on waiting lists grew to 177,264. Some may appear more than once if they applied with different agencies.
Council eviction notices increased by 10.2% to 16,640. Most cases involved rent arrears. Still, only 561 actual evictions occurred—a number far lower than before the pandemic.
Investment in Affordable Housing
The government shows strong support for affordable homes through extra funding. The current financial year allocated £768 million. This sum is £200 million above last year’s funding.
Since 2007, Scotland built about 136,000 affordable homes. Almost 97,000 of these serve as social rent. These numbers place Scotland ahead of other UK nations by population measures.
Conclusion
The new data shows mixed results in Scotland’s housing market. New housing supply fell and may bring future challenges. At the same time, social housing and funds for affordable homes made gains. The government works to keep housing fair for all residents. Stakeholders now watch the changes to keep affordable housing a top goal.
The path ahead may have hurdles, yet extra funds for affordable housing bring hope for people and for smaller housing investors.
