The housing crisis in Scotland has gotten so bad that an all-time high of households are now experiencing homelessness. The Scottish government declared a national housing emergency in May 2022, and despite pledging significant investment, experts warn that the situation is getting worse.
As of 2024, over 31,000 households are currently housed through active homeless cases in Scotland. Yet, despite its promise, far too many communities lack the effective solutions shown in this figure. More than 16,000 households — over 10,000 of them children — now live in temporary accommodation. The rising demand for housing, particularly social housing, has far outstripped supply, leading to a broken system, according to John Mills, head of housing at Fife Council.
The Scottish government has promised to invest a record £4.9 billion in building affordable homes over the next four years. This new funding is a welcome increase to a program that has stagnated and will help build and maintain 110,000 new affordable homes by 2032. The ambitious plan aims to provide 10,000 homes annually. A new report from advocates at Shelter Scotland calls for a bigger ambition – to deliver 15,000 affordable homes annually over the next parliamentary term. The estimated cost for this ambitious plan is just £8.2 billion.
Accountability has been a recurring theme from John Mills as he’s warned of the potential consequences of leaving the housing finance system unchanged. He warned that about two-thirds of borrowing for new energy efficiency retrofits relies on tenants’ rental payments. This dependence results in an untenable cycle as rents continue to increase.
“Take all that together you get to a point when the housing system is now broken in Scotland. That’s what the regulator is saying.” – John Mills
The cost of rented properties in Scotland has skyrocketed. The average monthly rent is now £999, compared to £673 in July 2015. For one thing, private rents have dramatically risen over the past 10 years, putting tremendous continuing economic strain on families and individuals needing housing.
Elle Glenny, a community worker and a witness who presented to the commission, spoke about her own difficulties maintaining housing affordability.
“I’m now paying up to 50% of my income every single month just to live.” – Elle Glenny
Dr Jessica Mills highlighted that relationship breakdowns have emerged as the most common driver of homelessness in Scotland. Whether from the resulting economic damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic — initially believed to provide a road to recovery — or something else entirely, the opposite has taken place.
“We thought after the Covid pandemic we would be in a period of recovery and things would get better.” – John Mills
Alison Wilson, with the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania, a key organizer of the rally, stressed the need for a serious response to the crisis.
“We face a simple choice – invest in the homes we need now, or pay the price for generations.” – Alison Wilson
Even amid the dark reality many places are facing, Mills was quick to point out some bright and hopeful news coming out of Fife. But as he noted, there are “some green shoots of recovery.” That said, he’s still not so positive about the prospects in big population hubs such as Glasgow as well as Edinburgh.
The situation demands immediate attention from policymakers and stakeholders to create effective strategies that will not only address current needs but prevent future crises. Certainly the Scottish government deserves credit for committing to more funding, that’s certainly a good sign. We’ll have to wait until the end of this parliamentary term to find out if it’s enough to truly address Scotland’s growing housing crisis.
