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Scotland’s affordable homes target risks becoming an impossible dream, says SFHA
The Scottish government’s affordable homes target “risks becoming an impossible dream”, the chief executive of the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) has said.
Sally Thomas said that first minister Humza Yousaf’s target of building 110,000 affordable homes by 2032 had “not just stalled, but is at risk of going into reverse”.
Addressing the membership body’s annual general meeting in October, Ms Thomas warned that Scotland “cannot become complacent”, despite its higher percentage of social housing compared with the rest of the UK.
She said: “The latest quarterly statistics show the number of affordable homes approved at the lowest level since mid-2020, when we were in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We need to see... words backed up by deeds, or the affordable homes target risks becoming an impossible dream.”
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Ms Thomas said that amid the “huge challenge” of the cost of living crisis, she had “heard loud and clear” from SFHA members that “what the sector needs more than anything is stability”.
She said she was “delighted that, this year, we were finally able to receive confirmation from the Scottish government that there would be no more rent controls on the social housing sector”.
This is because previous restrictions had had “a serious impact on our members’ ability to deliver the required number of high-quality social homes the country desperately needs”, she said.
“The levels of poverty in Scotland after housing costs are lower than in the rest of the UK due to our higher proportion of social housing. But we cannot become complacent,” Ms Thomas continued.
The meeting also heard from Emma Congreve, deputy director of the Fraser of Allander Institute, who said that social homes represented less than 25% of Scotland’s overall housing supply, despite the huge waiting list, compared with over 50% in the 1970s.
The Scottish government has been asked for a response to the SFHA.
At the general meeting, the SFHA also announced the results of its board election.
Gary Dalziel, chief executive of Elderpark Housing Association, and Catherine Rossine, chair of NG Homes’ board, will join the board, representing the city of Glasgow constituency.
Linda Leslie, chair of Kingdom Housing Association, and David Mills, chief operating officer of West Granton Housing Co-operative, were elected to represent non-urban areas, while Karen Eunson, a committee member of Hjaltland Housing Association, was elected to represent the rural and islands constituency.
Angela Linton, chief executive of Hillcrest Homes, was re-elected for another term to represent other cities.
In response to Ms Thomas’s comments on the affordable homes target, a Scottish government spokesperson said: “The Scottish government has led the UK in housing with 123,985 affordable homes delivered since 2007, including over 87,000 for social rent. This is over 40% more affordable homes delivered per head of population than in England, and over 70% more than In Wales.
“Despite challenges Scotland has faced recently, including Brexit and the Coronavirus pandemic, the number of affordable homes completed in the latest year is the highest annual figure since 2000.
“We remain committed to deliver 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, of which at least 70% will be for social rent and 10% in our rural and island communities, which will be backed up by our new Rural and Islands Housing Action Plan.”
