Scottish affordable homes target 'needs to double'

The study commissioned by Shelter Scotland, the Chartered Institute of Housing Scotland and the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA), calls for the biggest homebuilding programme north of the border since the 1970s – claiming 12,000 new properties are needed annually over five years to meet both the backlog of existing demand and new demand.

The estimated cost would be £700m a year to reach the minimum requirement, the study found.

Calling on all political parties to prioritise housebuilding in their manifestos for the upcoming Holyrood elections, Graeme Brown, Shelter Scotland director, said:  “A housebuilding programme on this scale would bring real hope of a home to the thousands of people in Scotland without a suitable affordable home and also be a major boost to jobs and the economy.”

Annie Mauger, CIH executive director, said “radical solutions” were needed due to the scale of the problem.

A spokesman for the Scottish Government, which is on course to meet its target of 6,000 affordable homes a year, said: “We are already delivering a huge boost to affordable housing provision across Scotland by investing over £1.7bn to build 30,000 affordable homes during the lifetime of this parliament.

“We will consider the findings of this report, and in the meantime continue to support recovery and growth through initiatives like Help to Buy (Scotland) and the Help to Buy (Scotland) Small Developers scheme. We are also easing housing pressures by working with partners to develop innovative funding approaches.”

The report was compiled by researchers at Sheffield Hallam University, University of Sheffield and University of St Andrews.