- Published
It is three years since Scotland's largest cities declared "housing emergencies", followed months later by the nation as a whole.
asserted
cities → publish → whole
Since then, homelessness has hit record levels while the cost of renting or buying property has continued to rise.
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cost → hit → property
The solution to this crisis would appear straightforward - build more houses.
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solution → appear → houses
But delivering this is more complicated, with responsibility falling to central and local government as well as to private housebuilders.
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responsibility → deliver → housebuilders
Scottish ministers claim the country boasts the UK's highest rate of housebuilding , externalbut the pace is falling, and there are questions about whether the right homes are being built in the right places.
So far, 13 Scottish councils have declared housing emergencies for a variety of reasons.
uncertain
councils → claim → reasons
They include rising pressure on homelessness services, high levels of people in temporary accommodation and a lack of affordable homes compared to lengthy waiting lists.
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They → include → lists
Homelessness has increased to a record level, with Scottish government data showing, external more than 19,000 households in temporary accommodation paid for by councils - a 10% rise on the previous year.
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data → increase → year
This includes 10,715 children living in temporary accommodation, such as a bedsit.
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This → include → bedsit
A total of 35,000 households were assessed as being homeless or threatened with homelessness in 2025-26.
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total → assess → 2025
And as of March this year, there had been more than 180,000 applications , externalto council or common housing lists - a figure which doesn't include some large authorities like Glasgow.
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which → include → Glasgow
Scotland's largest city runs its social housing through housing associations, but says there are more than 6,000 applications waiting and more than 4,200 households in temporary accommodation.
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city → run → accommodation
The overall social housing stock, external held by councils and housing associations has been rising since 2017 - the year after the Right to Buy scheme was abolished in Scotland - but has only recovered to its 2004 level.
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scheme → hold → level
In March this year, there were 89,000 fewer social homes available than when the Scottish Parliament was reconvened in 1999 - despite a 9% rise in Scotland's population over the same period.
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Parliament → be → period
While demand for social and affordable housing has been rising, the total number of homes actually being built has been falling.
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number → rise → homes
The housebuilding sector was only starting to recover from the 2008 financial crash when the Covid pandemic hit.
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pandemic → start → crash
In the 2025-26 financial year, a total of 17,640 new homes were completed according to Scottish government figures, external - the third year in a row where the figure had fallen.
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figure → complete → row
There is little prospect for an immediate improvement, as the number of new projects started over the last two years were the lowest since 2012-13.
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number → be → 2012
As to why this is happening, housebuilders point to a range of factors.
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housebuilders → happen → factors
The sector faces familiar problems with the cost of doing business, with construction materials particularly vulnerable to inflationary shocks like that which followed the war in Ukraine in 2022.
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which → face → 2022
Industry bodies also complain about a lack of suitable land, external earmarked for building, and say it takes too long for planning permission to be given to new developments.
Red tape is also a concern.
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tape → complain → developments
Scotland - which represents about 200 housebuilding firms
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which → represent → firms
says the "regulatory burden being imposed by government" over recent years has added tens of thousands of pounds to the cost of a new-build home.
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burden → say → home
They note that Chancellor John Healey promised in his UK budget not to make major changes to building regulations for the rest of the parliamentary term.
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Healey → note → term
Recent examples in Scotland include a levy to address unsafe cladding on tall buildings, new rules requiring "climate-friendly" heat sources and better energy efficiency.
Scottish Housing Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville told BBC Scotland News that ministers were alive to the concerns of housebuilders, but that these standards helped reduce energy bills and improved housing for disabled people.
Are homes being built in the right places?
There is a notable disparity in rates of building in different parts of Scotland, with construction particularly concentrated in the area around Edinburgh.
In 2025-26, 32% of the new homes completed in Scotland were in the Lothians.
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% → include → Lothians
If you add in Fife, which is also a popular area for people commuting to the capital, then this corner of the country accounts for 39% of all new homes built, despite only having 23% of the population.
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corner → add → population
Look to the west and the figures flip around; Glasgow and the surrounding councils have 32% of the population, but only 26% of the housebuilding.
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Glasgow → look → housebuilding
This is true even in relatively affluent areas with high rates of population growth, like East Renfrewshire - where just 87 new homes were completed last year.
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homes → complete → Renfrewshire
Glasgow has a homelessness problem so acute that the city council is spending almost £70m a year putting people up in hotel rooms.
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council → have → rooms
Along with Edinburgh, the city has been declared to be in a state of "systemic failure" by the Scottish Housing Regulator.
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city → declare → Regulator
Glasgow faces particular pressure with refugee households seeking support, with 44% of the 8,025 homelessness applications last year from people with refugee status or leave to remain - compared to 16% across Scotland as a whole.
And yet there were fewer new home "starts" there last year than in East Lothian, a more rural area with one sixth the population, with city leaders in Glasgow blaming rising construction costs.
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leaders → face → costs
Plans have just been announced for 6,500 new affordable homes to be built on brownfield sites - previously developed land which is currently unused - over the next six years.
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which → announce → years
The council also says it has identified 59 sites across the city as potential locations for another 12,173 new homes, which could be built by 2032 if funding becomes available.
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funding → say → 2032
It is also looking at repurposing disused shops for housing.
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It → look → housing
There has been a historic shift in Scotland's population towards Edinburgh, with the capital's financial and service sector booming while areas in the west struggle to recover from the decline of traditional industries.
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areas → boom → industries
Demand for homes around the capital has driven up property prices.
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Demand → drive → prices
Edinburgh, Midlothian and East Lothian all feature in the top four areas in Scotland, external with the highest house prices, all well above the national average, external.
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Edinburgh → feature → average
This makes it attractive to housebuilders seeking a return on investment - and it also means businesses in the construction trade and related supply chains are more likely to thrive there.
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businesses → make → trade
Meanwhile those in the industry say there are fewer small-to-medium sized building firms in more rural areas to take projects forward.
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those → say → projects
Higher prices in the east of Scotland have meant problems with affordability for some.
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prices → mean → some
A study for Shelter Scotland, external suggested that 62% of newly-formed households - people entering the housing market for the first time, such as those leaving the parental home - in this area were unable to afford the current market.
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% → suggest → market
…and 10 more, not listed.
The Aporia
