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More than 1,800 affordable homes in Scotland stalled due to funding cuts
More than 1,800 affordable homes have stalled since the Scottish government slashed funding for housebuilding, according to a large sector body.
Homes for Scotland analysed data collected from its members, which showed 1,826 sub-market-rate residences were currently on hold because of recent cuts to the Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP).
This funding stream was reduced from £752m in 2023-24 to just £556m in the current financial year.
Homes for Scotland said it had identified sites on which about 5,000 “high-quality, energy-efficient homes” were not under construction as planned because of the budget cut.
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More than a third of these were designated as affordable, according to the organisation.
It added that in excess of one in five stalled sub-market-rate homes were on mixed-tenure sites.
Almost half of them were on sites within local authorities that had declared local housing emergencies, it warned.
Jane Wood, chief executive of Homes for Scotland, said: “These latest insights clearly illustrate the impact the devastating cuts to the affordable housing budget have had on all-tenure housing delivery across Scotland.”
The stalled sites left “thousands of vitally needed new homes across the country facing years of delay or, even worse, [being] completely mothballed at a time of national emergency”, she added.
“The impact of the cuts that have devastated the housing budget are now clear for all to see.”
Ms Wood called on the Scottish government to use “all powers within its control” to boost delivery of new homes across all tenures.
She said Homes for Scotland, alongside organisations such as Shelter and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, had set out a housing emergency action plan.
“This is in addition to a range of evidenced solutions already submitted with the insights of our member companies.”
Housing minister Paul McLennan pointed out that the Scottish government had supported the delivery of more than 131,000 affordable homes.
“We will continue to build on that record with almost £600m of investment in the AHSP in 2024-25, and we remain focused on delivering 110,000 affordable homes by 2032,” he said.
“To maximise the impact of investment through the AHSP, we are concluding our review of this programme with inputs from stakeholders to ensure resources are being deployed to optimal effect.
“We are also working on the development of specific options to attract private investment through the Housing Investment Taskforce.
“We will continue to work collaboratively with our partners and stakeholders across the housing sector to tackle the housing emergency.”
The slowdown comes just weeks after Homes for Scotland reported an “alarming” 20% fall in the market share of small and medium-sized house builders.
