According to the latest Scottish Government figures released yesterday, there were 3,378 homes completed by housing associations in 2023-24 which represents a 33% drop from the previous year’s total of 5,016 homes.

Figures also showed that the number of homes started and completed in 2023-24 were down in every sector including local authorities and the private sector.

The SFHA has warned that the freefall in housebuilding applies to the period before the Scottish Government’s £196m cut to affordable housing has taken effect: so it is likely that worse is to come.

It comes after SFHA joined a range of housing and anti-poverty organisations in setting out a Housing Emergency Action Plan last week which called for the Scottish Government to urgently reverse recent cuts to the housing budget and fully fund local authority homelessness services.

Reacting to the latest Scottish Government figures, SFHA chief executive Sally Thomas said: “(Yesterday’s) dire statistics should serve as yet another wake-up call to the Scottish Government about the extent of the housing emergency and the immediate challenges we face in delivering affordable rented housing.

“Starts and completions of new homes are down in every sector and it’s clear we are seeing a collapse in housebuilding.

“Our housing associations are key to delivering the warm, high quality, affordable homes which will end the housing emergency, but successive Scottish Government cuts are threatening their ability to deliver.

“With nearly 10,000 children living in temporary accommodation and almost 250,000 people on a waiting list for a social home, we cannot afford such a slowdown in housebuilding.

“The Scottish Government must immediately change course and follow the Housing Emergency Action Plan set out by SFHA and our partners, otherwise they risk letting down everyone who is in desperate need of a warm, high quality, affordable home.”

Housebuilder membership body Homes for Scotland (HFS) said the trend is “crippling” social wellbeing and the aspiration of Scots.

The new statistics continue to show Scotland’s housing situation is in rapid decline, with both starts and completions across all sectors falling significantly (by 15% and 17% respectively) in the financial year end to March 2024. This now represents four consecutive quarters of decline in all-sector housing starts, a key indicator of future housing completions.

HFS said the figures are a stark reminder of the national housing emergency encompassing all tenures, with private sector starts and completions falling by 16% and 13% respectively between financial years 2022–2023 and 2023–2024, whilst the social sector has seen starts and completions drop by 14% and 27%. Whilst a national housing emergency was declared in May, the situation has been unfolding for years, with 2024 Q1 figures showing that all-tenure housing starts and completions are now down 55% and 21% against pre-recession levels (2008 Q1).

Jane Wood, chief executive of Homes for Scotland, said: “It has now been over a month since the Scottish Government finally acknowledged the housing emergency which is crippling the social wellbeing and aspirations of the people of Scotland.

“Evidence of how deep-rooted the situation is mounting all the time, not least with an additional four local authorities having now declared their own respective emergencies since the last housing statistics were published.

“On the basis of the figures released today, the people of Scotland deserve more than platitudes and excuses. Our own research also highlights the decline of SME home builders and thousands of new homes now stalled across the country as a result of affordable housing budget cuts.

“HFS, alongside other major housing stakeholders, has set out a clear Housing Emergency Action Plan that must be addressed urgently if we are to tackle this crisis effectively.

“We and our members have tabled a range of evidenced solutions to increase the delivery of high quality, sustainable homes of all tenures at pace and stand ready to work with the Scottish Government and all others who wish to see housing supply increased to achieve this.”

The release of the figures coincided with fresh research showing the value of social homes.

The research, funded by housing and homelessness charity Shelter Scotland in partnership with Housing Associations’ Charitable Trust (HACT), captures the experience of social tenants and the positive impact that moving into a new social home has on their lives.

The most significant positive changes reported by tenants related to financial comfort, being less worried about crime, ability to heat their homes, and access to greenspaces. Many respondents also said that moving into a social home improved their lives in terms of their independence, health, and being able to escape overcrowding or harassment.

Using the UK Social Value Bank model, the research found that an average of £11,027 of social value was generated for each individual in the three to six months after moving into social housing.

Shelter Scotland said the continued decline in social housing delivery was an inevitable consequence of repeated cuts to the affordable housing supply programme at Holyrood.

Shelter Scotland director, Alison Watson, said: “The continued decline in the number of social homes being delivered is the inevitable, and entirely foreseeable, consequence of repeated cuts to the housing budget.

“The research we’ve published today shows that delivering social homes improves people’s lives and delivers tremendous value not only for social tenants but for the public purse as well.

“Investing in social housing means investing in people’s health and in our communities. Delivering more social housing is the only way to provide permanent homes for the 10,000 children in Scotland who are trapped in temporary accommodation. So, ultimately, investing in social homes is also investing in Scotland’s future.”

Michael Mclaughlin, head of social value at HACT, added: “We know that increasing housing supply is the key route to ending homelessness, however what this year two research further evidences is that social housing tenancies play a particular role within this, through the provisions and wrap-around support that increases health, wellbeing, and resilience of those in most need.

“Social housing tenancies are driving improvements in social, economic and health outcomes in tenants, and where these are achieved there is huge capacity for significant preventative savings to wider society. We’re delighted to be working with Shelter Scotland on this incredibly important research. The insight is already proving that where there is better understanding of evolving needs of tenants, strong relationships are developed and needs-based service is delivered, that social housing is one of the key drivers of lasting impact to people’s lives.”

Link social value co-ordinator, Sheila Maxwell, commented: “Link continues to be committed to gathering quality data from social housing tenants that demonstrates the positive, and wide-ranging impact, of new build social housing for tenants and the Scottish economy.

“We welcome the opportunity to work in partnership with 13 other RSLs and four local authorities serving rural and urban communities to build this body of evidence. This interim year two report enables us all to share research outcomes with colleagues across the housing sector and with those developing housing strategy, policy and practice in Scotland.”