According to the figures, in the 12 months ending December 2024, there were 19,797 homes built and 15,050 new builds started. All sector completions (-7%) and starts (-9%) were lower than the previous 12 months.

The private sector built 15,066 homes and the social sector built 4,731 homes. In terms of starts, building work on 11,617 was started by the private sector and 3,433 homes by the social sector.

Excluding 2020 (where Covid-19 impacted housebuilding) private sector-led completions were the lowest since the year to end of December 2017 and starts were the lowest since the year to end of December 2013. In the social sector, completions were the lowest since the year to the end of December 2017 and starts were slightly higher than the previous year.

In terms of the Affordable Housing Supply Programme, in the year to the end of December 2024, there were 6,440 approvals, 6,501 starts, and 8,180 completions of affordable homes. The number of completions were down by 18% (-1,736 homes) compared to the year to end December 2023. However, approvals and starts increased by 4% (249 homes) and 4% (254 homes) between 2023 and 2024 (year ending December).

The Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) said the “concerning” figures prompt the need for a “multi-year funding settlement”.

According to the statistics published today, the number of homes built by housing associations fell by more than 26% in the last year from 4,091 homes in 2024 to 3,016 homes in 2023.

Amid the backdrop of Scotland’s housing emergency, there was also a sharp decline of more than 20% in housing association approvals from 2,195 down to 1,738, whilst the number of homes started was also marginally down 5% from 2,114 to 2,002.

It comes after the Scottish Government reversed a previous £200 million cut to the country’s affordable homes programme.

The additional funding has been welcomed by SFHA, but it has urged both the UK and Scottish Government to work together to introduce a long-term funding settlement for housing associations noting that 250,000 people remained on waiting lists for a social home.

Any additional funding for the affordable homes programme would be available after the Chancellor’s Spending Review in June, where it’s expected that UK Ministers will set out a long-term plan for housing in England to meet the UK Government’s target of delivering 1.5 million homes by 2030.

The SFHA said any Barnett Consequentials from this must be put into Scotland’s affordable homes programme.

SFHA director of external affairs Carolyn Lochhead said: “With the number of homes built by housing associations falling by a quarter last year, these statistics again underline the scale of our national housing emergency.

“Whilst the additional funding in the Scottish Budget is a welcome starting point to reverse these concerning trends, we need ramped-up funding over a number of years if we are to deliver the homes Scotland desperately needs.

“Today’s statistics also highlight a sharp 20% decline in the number of homes approved by housing associations: if there are fewer homes approved in one year, then that’s fewer homes which are built in future.

“Following the Chancellor’s Spending Review, we need to see the UK and Scottish Government commit to a multi-year funding settlement for the Affordable Housing Supply Programme to give our housing associations the confidence they need to build.”

Shelter Scotland said the statistics show the ongoing consequences of two years of funding cuts in the face of Scotland’s housing emergency.

The charity has warned that this failure to provide adequate numbers of social homes is leaving thousands of children trapped in temporary accommodation. The charity’s recent In Their Own Words report highlighted the serious impact this has on children’s safety, health and education.

Shelter Scotland director, Alison Watson, said: “The sustained decline in the number of social homes being built means 10,360 children remain trapped in, often unsuitable temporary accommodation across Scotland.

“There are thousands of families waiting for a permanent home and the Scottish Government need to target funding in areas with the highest need.

“We can see some positive movement in the number of social homes being approved and started, however, this simply isn’t good enough if the housing minister wants to meet his target of 110,000 new affordable homes by 2032.

“This is the direct consequence of tightening the housing budget, which we warned would impact thousands of children and families in the homeless system.”

Jane Wood, chief executive at sector body Homes for Scotland (HFS), whose members deliver the majority of the country’s new homes of all tenures, said: “It will soon be a year since the Scottish Parliament declared a national housing emergency. Starts and completions are the clearest form of data for tracking the effectiveness of the political response to this. With these now falling for the third year in a row, there is nothing to assure either our members or the 693,000 Scottish households living in some form of housing need, that the situation is being tackled with the necessary resource and level of urgency that is so clearly warranted.

“Every year that new housing starts and completions continue to decline simply adds to the length of time it will take for Scotland to address the shortfall of over 100,000 homes that has now accumulated since 2008.

“Whilst we recognise the progress that the Scottish Government has made – its work with us on identifying stalled sites for example – this is not having the immediate impact that is required. We again emphasise the need for emergency action: action on the regulatory burden, action on planning and action on Affordable Housing.  For instance, we are four months on from the announcement of a Housing Planning Hub but yet to see any tangible detail or outcomes. Affordable Housing budgets have been restored but we don’t know which projects will have the necessary funding to proceed.

“And with homelessness having reached another record high, comparisons regarding housing delivery elsewhere in the UK are not always helpful and do not reflect the ambition for housing that we believe Scotland deserves.

“Given the strong interdependencies between private and social housing delivery, it should be a wake-up call to all that private sector starts have reached their lowest level since 2013. Until we get to grips with the issues of a failing land supply and a heavy regulatory burden it is doubtful we will see any immediate cessation in the housing emergency.

“As ever, HFS and its members stand ready to play their part in increasing the supply of high-quality, energy efficient and affordable homes across all tenures to tackle the housing emergency and provide their crucial expertise on how Scotland’s regulatory framework can deliver rather than block the new homes so desperately needed by Scotland’s people.”

Labour housing spokesperson Mark Griffin said: “These damning figures show the SNP’S incompetence is at the root of Scotland’s housing emergency.

“For years it has been clear that things are at crisis point in our housing system, with homelessness at high levels, rents soaring, and home ownership becoming a distant dream for many.”

He added: “At the root of this crisis is a lack of housing, but the SNP has let the number of new homes being built fall and its affordable homes pledge is nowhere near being met.”

Scottish Conservative housing spokesperson Meghan Gallacher said: “These shocking statistics confirm SNP ministers have been asleep at the wheel while Scotland remains in the grip of a housing emergency.

“They delivered savage cuts of nearly £200 million to the housing budget.”

But housing minister Paul Mclennan said the Scottish Government has a “strong track record in delivering affordable housing in Scotland”.

The statistics are used to inform progress against the Scottish Government’s affordable housing delivery target to deliver 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, of which at least 70% will be for social rent and 10% will be in rural and island communities. By December 2024, 26,039 affordable homes have been completed towards the target. These completions consist of 19,945 (77%) homes for social rent, 3,644 (14%) for affordable rent, and 2,450 (9%) for affordable home ownership.

Mr McLennan said: “We have a strong track record in delivering affordable housing in Scotland with these latest statistics showing that from 2007 to the end of December 2024 more than 136,000 affordable homes have been delivered, with 97,000 of those for social rent. Up to March 2024, that is 47% more affordable homes per head of population than England and 73% more than Wales.

“It is encouraging that affordable housing starts and approvals have increased in the last year to date, and we will continue to work with partners to increase these levels even further through our £768 million investment in 2025-26, which is an increase of £200m when compared to this financial year.

“Building on the success of the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership that has helped almost 11,000 empty properties become homes since 2010, next year we will also invest £2m into bringing more privately owned empty homes back into use.

“We are also focused on working with partner organisations, through our Housing Planning Hub, to identify how our planning system can help to provide solutions. This decisive and properly targeted action, based on evidence, will provide more homes and better places for people to live in.”