THE Scottish Government has announced a new commitment to invest up to £4.9 billion over the next four years to deliver around 36,000 affordable homes.
The announcement, which also included providing a home for up to 24,000 children, came as cabinet secretary for housing, Màiri McAllan, unveiled the government’s emergency action plan to tackle the housing crisis.
In a statement to the Scottish Parliament, the housing secretary set out a number of key commitments, including:
- A new commitment to invest up to £4.9 billion over the next four years, delivering around 36,000 affordable homes by 2029-30 and providing a home for up to 24,000 children.
- Doubling investment in acquisitions this year to £80 million, which will help take between 600-800 children out of temporary accommodation.
- Implement Awaab’s Law from March 2026, starting with damp and mould, subject to parliamentary approval, to ensure landlords promptly address issues hazardous to tenants.
- A new £1 million national ‘fund to leave’ to provide financial support for up to 1,200 women and their children to leave an abusive partner.
- Unlocking land for housing in rural areas by working with the Scottish National Investment Bank, landowners and public bodies
- A new Ministerial direction to planning authorities.
Ms McAllan said, “Tackling the housing emergency will be a cornerstone in our efforts to achieve the Scottish Government’s key priority of eradicating child poverty. I am determined this action plan will deliver positive and lasting change.
“At the heart of my mission is ensuring children are not spending time in unsuitable accommodation or long periods in temporary accommodation; that the housing needs of vulnerable communities are met and that we create the optimum conditions for confidence and investment in Scotland’s housing sector.
“Our efforts so far since declaring a housing emergency have seen 2,700 families with children into a permanent home, up to December 2024. Our action plan will see tens of thousands more families have a place they can call home.
“Since I took up the role of Cabinet Secretary I have listened to calls from the sector for multi-year funding to give housebuilders more long-term certainty. Today I have committed to investing up to £4.9 billion in affordable homes over the next four years. This long-term certainty and increase in funding will support delivery of around 36,000 affordable homes and provide up to 24,000 children with a warm, safe home.
“We cannot tackle this emergency alone though and I need everyone from across the private and public sector to pull together and deliver this plan to ensure everyone in Scotland has access to a safe, warm and affordable home.”
Crisis Scotland’s head of policy and communications, Maeve McGoldrick, commented, “We welcome today’s announcement. Homelessness is the most acute form of poverty, and we see the damage it does through our frontline services every day. Investment in new housing will help prevent more people being forced from their homes, while the expansion of Housing First will provide a vital route out of homelessness for people who have been let down by services for too long.
“We can’t allow more people to be trapped in the limbo of the homelessness system– we need to act now to help build a Scotland where everyone has a safe, secure place to call home.”
Scottish Women’s Aid CEO Dr Marsha Scott said, “Scottish Women’s Aid warmly welcomes announcement of a roll-out of the original Fund to Leave pilots to the rest of Scotland. Every day we and our local Women’s Aid services see women and children struggling to get free of an abuser. The Fund to Leave offers a critical helping hand when women and children need it most. ‘Leaving’ is difficult and dangerous, and the Fund to Leave is such an important step to making leaving and staying free from an abuser a reality across Scotland.
Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) chief executive Sally Thomas said, “It is greatly welcome that the Cabinet Secretary has listened to SFHA and announced a four-year commitment for Scotland’s housing budget, and we now need further details on how much of this £4.9billion commitment is public money and will be for affordable rented homes.
“As SFHA’s research this morning makes clear, Scotland must build over 15,000 social and affordable homes per year to meet housing need which will require at least £8.2billion in public funding over the next parliament.
“We trust further details of this funding commitment will be set out in the Scottish Budget. In terms of immediate steps, removing the threat of rent controls from MMR homes is welcome. This has followed sustained pressure from SFHA as housing associations have repeatedly made clear that rent controls make these developments unviable.
“Increased funding for homeless prevention is another sensible measure and housing associations look forward to building on their proud record of tackling homelessness through delivering secure, warm and affordable homes.”
