Scottish Government needs to 'reset' social home-building as numbers continue to fall
SFHA has called for long term funding for social home-building, as statistics show the number of homes delivered continues to slow.
Calls have been made for long term funding for social home-building, as statistics released this week show the number of homes delivered continues to slow.
The figures outline that the number of social homes starting to be built has stayed at the lowest level for 20 years. There were no social homes built at all in four local authority areas - Clackmannanshire, East Dunbartonshire, Inverclyde and North Ayrshire – although none of these local authorities have yet declared a housing emergency.
Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) say this underlines the “desperate” state the social housing sector now faces, following the hammer-blow cut to the budget last year and longer-term challenges. The cost of construction have risen sharply in recent years, with labour shortages exacerbating the slow-down in building.
To achieve the Scottish Government’s target of delivering 110,000 affordable homes by 2032 nearly 11,000 homes need to be built per year, compared to just over 8,000 delivered this year.
Sally Thomas, CEO of SFHA, said:
“It’s hugely welcome that the Scottish Government listened to our concerns and plans to reverse last years’ budget cut. However, we know that real damage has been done and the sector faces a desperate situation, not least the steadily rising costs of building homes while keeping rents truly affordable for existing tenants.
“If we are to deliver the social homes that our communities urgently need, then there’s a need to reset and give confidence back to the sector. One of the ways this can happen is with a commitment to long-term funding, which we need to see following the UK spending review next year. It’s only with certainty that we can begin to get back on track and tackle our housing emergency.”