Politicians need to act faster to end housing slump

The new service will aim to settle disputes between landlords and tenants. Picture: Ian Georgeson

Figures released by the Scottish Government earlier this week show Scotland mired in the depths of a prolonged housing crisis.

Completions across all sectors in the last quarter have fallen by 25 per cent on the same period a year ago and starts have slumped to their lowest figure on record.

Output has nearly halved from pre-credit crunch levels of near 26,000 new homes built in 2007-08.  With fewer than 14,000 new homes built in 2012-13 – when the Scottish population is at a record high and households are projected to grow by more than 21,000 a year over the next two decades – this is particularly worrying.

According to official estimates, 465,000 new homes across all tenures are needed in Scotland by 2035 to meet demand.  However, the build rate announced this week points to a potential shortfall of around 160,000 by this time.  This is equal to the number of people already on housing waiting lists.