Highland Housing Issues Mean Many People Are Stuck In Unsuitable Housing or None

26th October 2025

The housing shortage and waiting-lists in the Highland Council area seem stuck on the high side.

According to a 2024 annual allocations report, the number of households on the housing register in Highland was 8,338 as at 31 March 2024 — this was down from 8,951 at 31 March 2023.

A news report from January 2024 states that in the Highland area "over 30,500 homes face one or more forms of housing need". This includes around 4,000 living in overcrowded accommodation, 2,000 in "unfit" properties, and 15,000 wishing to form their own household but unable to.

The Council has estimated that roughly 24,000 new homes will be required over the next 10 years in Highland about double the "normal" build rate.

In a 2024 article it was noted that there were 6,101 applicants on waiting lists plus 2,517 on transfer lists at end of March in the Highlands.
West Highland Free Press - www.whfp.com

Vacant council-homes
A report in 2024 showed there were 356 vacant council houses in Highland as of 2024, of which some had been empty for many years.

Are waiting lists growing and supply facing serious pressure?

Although the number of register applicants fell from 8,951 (2023) to 8,338 (2024) according to one measure, that does not necessarily mean the pressure is easing. Part of the story is that demand remains high (e.g., the 30,500 figure indicates unmet housing need) and supply is constrained.

Reports suggest that waiting lists are very long and "unprecedented" in some parts of the Highlands. For example, a local account says, "I've never seen a waiting list as long in my 40 years involved in the sector." - West Highland Free Press - www.whfp.com

The estimate of 24,000 new homes needed over 10 years suggests a significant shortfall in build rate if current levels are maintained. That means waiting lists are unlikely to start shrinking unless supply ramps up materially.

The fact that there are hundreds of vacant council homes (356) indicates that part of the shortage is not just new-build supply, but also unlocking existing stock. That suggests structural inefficiencies in the system.

1 September 2025
Highland Council launches Housing Needs and Demand Survey to shape future homes and services

The Highland Council has launched a survey about the housing needs and future aspirations of local households. The survey will allow the Council to better understand the housing circumstances and needs of local households so that a good range of housing options can be delivered in the future. The results will help the Council plan for new housing and housing services, making sure the needs of all residents and communities are met.

Housing & Property Committee Chair, Cllr Glynis Campbell Sinclair said: "The Highland Council, as part of its commitment to meeting the ‘Highland Housing Challenge', encourages residents across Highland to complete the Highland Housing Need & Demand Survey, this will ensure a robust and accurate data set is captured for all types of housing need and not just Council/rental demand. To capture this as accurately as possible, we need to speak to residents across Highland, of all ages (over 16yrs old) and living in all types of housing, to identify what housing is needed across Highland communities for the years ahead."

To take part, respondents should be aged over 16 and be a main householder, and all survey responses will be for research purposes only and it will not be possible to identify individual residents from the responses. Research Resource are registered under the Data Protection Act and all responses will be completely confidential.

Telephone interviews will commence on 8th September 2025 and will continue over a period of 10 weeks.

The online survey can be found here www.researchresource.co.uk/AJHighlandHNDA.html
www.researchresource.co.uk/AJHighlandHNDA.html
Closes 7 November 2025