Scotland’s housing system is under pressure, and the latest national figures bring that picture into focus.
In the year from 2023 to 2024, just 20,364 homes were added to the housing supply.
That is nearly 4,000 fewer than the year before, a sharp drop of 16 percent.
Almost every home delivered was a new build, with rehabilitations and conversions making up less than 2 percent of the total.
As of March 2023, there were an estimated 2.7 million homes across Scotland.
Six in ten were owner-occupied, while just under a quarter were social rented properties.
A further 13 percent were privately rented or occupied rent-free, with 3.7 percent vacant or used as second homes.
The overall supply of social housing grew by just over 6,000 homes during the year.
That brings the total to 633,030, split between council homes and those managed by housing associations.
There are also tens of thousands of supported homes for people who need them most.
More than 21,000 are designed for older people, while just under 30,000 support those with physical disabilities.
The number of lettings made by local authorities rose to 25,423.
Almost half of those went to people experiencing homelessness.
A further quarter were allocated to households on waiting lists, while the rest went to existing tenants or other categories.
But the demand for housing is still outpacing the supply.
There were more than 177,000 applications on housing lists by March 2024.
That figure includes some duplication, but it speaks volumes about the level of unmet need.
Eviction pressures also increased over the year.
Councils issued 16,640 notices of proceedings to tenants, up by 10 percent on the previous year.
In total, 561 of those ended in eviction or abandonment.
Nine in ten of those cases were due to rent arrears, not antisocial behaviour.
Elsewhere in the housing system, local authority grants dipped slightly.
A total of 6,038 were awarded, most of them to adapt homes for disabled residents.
While fewer grants were issued, the total spend on disability adaptations increased to £22.2 million.
There were also slightly fewer licensed houses in multiple occupation than the year before.
Scotland’s Housing Minister Paul McLennan said action is already under way.
He confirmed a £768 million investment in affordable housing for this year.
That is £200 million more than the year before.
He highlighted the government’s long-term record, with 136,000 affordable homes built since 2007.
Of those, 97,000 were for social rent.
He said Scotland delivers 47 percent more affordable homes per head than England, and 73 percent more than Wales.
Since declaring a housing emergency, the government has been working closely with councils under the most strain.
That includes support for those facing rising homelessness and growing use of temporary accommodation.
McLennan said new measures in the Housing Bill aim to protect tenants while encouraging continued investment in rented homes.
His message was simple.
Everyone in Scotland deserves a safe, warm, affordable place to live.
