1st July 2026
There were 17,268 new homes built and 14,955 new builds started across the social and private sector in 2025-26.
On the basis of the latest figures, the Scottish Government is behind the pace required to meet its own affordable housing target, although it is still too early to say that the target is impossible to achieve.
The statistics published this week paint a mixed picture.
What the new figures show
The Scottish Government reported that in 2025-26:
17,268 new homes were completed across all sectors, down 10% on the previous year.
New housing starts fell 4% to 14,955.
Private sector completions were at their lowest level since 2017-18 (excluding the Covid-affected year), while private sector starts were the lowest since 2012-13.
Social housing completions also fell sharply, although social housing starts increased by 25%.
For the Affordable Housing Supply Programme specifically:
6,832 affordable homes were completed in 2025-26 (down 8%)
7,421 starts (up 37%)
6,787 approvals (up 42%)
The rise in approvals and starts is encouraging because they are the pipeline for future completions, but they will take several years to become finished homes.
The 110,000-home target
The Scottish Government has committed to delivering:
110,000 affordable homes between 2022 and 2032
with at least 70% for social rent.
According to this week's update, by March 2026:
35,368 homes have been completed.
That means:
around 74,600 homes remain
with six financial years left (2026-27 to 2031-32).
That requires an average of roughly 12,400 affordable homes every year from now until 2032.
Yet the latest completion figure is only 6,832.
In other words, annual delivery would need to increase by around 80% compared with the most recent year to stay on track.
Why are numbers falling?
Several factors have combined:
higher interest rates have increased borrowing costs for developers and housing associations
construction inflation remains well above pre-pandemic levels
shortages of skilled labour
planning delays
infrastructure constraints such as water and electricity connections
reductions in Scottish Government affordable housing budgets during 2024, although funding has since begun to increase again.
Can they still recover?
Possibly but it will require a sustained acceleration.
The positive signs are:
approvals are up 42%
starts are up 37%
the Scottish Government has increased affordable housing investment in the latest budget.
However, there is always a lag of one to three years before increased starts become completed homes. Even if starts continue to rise, the completion figures for the next year or two may remain relatively subdued.
What are critics saying?
Housing organisations and opposition parties argue the latest figures show Scotland remains in a housing emergency and that current delivery is insufficient to meet demand. Some have warned that without a much faster rate of building, the 110,000-home ambition will be missed.
At present, the Scottish Government is off the trajectory needed to meet its 2032 affordable housing commitment.
That is not the same as saying the target has already been missed. There are still six years remaining, and the recent increase in housing starts could translate into higher completion numbers later in the Parliament. But unless annual completions rise well above current levels—and remain there consistently—the mathematics suggest the Government faces an increasingly difficult challenge.