Chief executive Sally Thomas urged ministers to set out a long-term funding plan for housing associations after statistics published yesterday showed yet another dramatic slump in housebuilding.

The figures show that the number of housing association homes completed in the year ending March 2025 had fallen to 2,792, whilst the number of homes starting to be built was just 1,751. This is compared to the recent peak of over 5,000 building starts just five years ago in the year ending March 2020. 

The SFHA said the figures meant the Scottish Government’s chance of meeting its flagship target to deliver 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, 70% of which are for social rent, was “increasingly difficult”.

It comes just two weeks after the First Minister placed housing at the heart of his government by announcing Mairi McAllan MSP as cabinet secretary for housing. The post had previously been the remit of a junior minister. 

The Scottish Government has been urged to commit to a long-term funding plan for social housing in the wake of a 10-year funding package for housing in England worth £39 billion. 

Earlier this month, the First Minister addressed housing associations at SFHA’s Annual Conference and indicated that long-term funding was something he was confident of replicating. 

Responding to yesterday’s figures, SFHA chief executive Sally Thomas said: “With yet another slowdown in housebuilding, today’s statistics again underline the extent of Scotland’s housing emergency. 

“Unless there is a significant long-term uplift in funding, then not only is the Scottish Government’s housing target going to be increasingly difficult to meet, but tens of thousands of people throughout Scotland will be kept waiting for the warmth, security and affordability of a social home to call their own. 

“The appointment of a cabinet secretary for housing is a really positive step, and we now need to see the Scottish Government seize the opportunity from the Spending Review by investing the resulting Barnett consequentials in housing with a long-term funding plan. This is essential if we are to see the certainty and consistency housing associations need to invest in building new homes at scale.”

Homes for Scotland (HFS) chief executive Jane Wood said the numbers “only confirm the concerns that the home-building sector has been raising for years,” arguing that the current regulatory environment “is stifling the delivery of new homes rather than supporting it,” especially for SME builders whose numbers have fallen by two-thirds since 2008.

Ms Wood added: “This is especially important for our SME home builders who are critical to delivering high-quality new homes on brownfield land and rural communities, yet we know that their number has declined by two-thirds since 2008, with 9 in 10 SMEs citing that government policies are making it harder for them to build.

“The recently published Housing Investment Taskforce report, the recommendations of which the Scottish Government has confirmed it will take forward, recognises the need for bold, co-ordinated and interventionist action across a range of issues such as planning reform, infrastructure delivery and long-term funding commitments for the affordable housing supply programme.

“With housing now promoted to a standalone portfolio in the Scottish Government alongside a new cabinet secretary for housing, the sector needs to see this reform delivered at pace. Clarity on the outcomes of previously announced measures such as the Planning Hub for Housing and resolution on the significant number of stalled housing sites across the country is also urgently required.

“As ever, HFS and its members stand ready to play their part in increasing the supply of high-quality, energy efficient and affordable homes across all tenures to tackle the housing emergency and provide their crucial expertise on how Scotland’s regulatory framework can deliver rather than block the new homes so desperately needed by Scotland’s people. We look forward to meeting the new cabinet secretary to discuss this and understand what the Scottish Government’s key priorities will be going forward.”

Gordon MacRae, Shelter Scotland assistant director of communications and advocacy, said: “The continued decline in the number of social homes being delivered is the inevitable, and entirely foreseeable, consequence of repeated changes to the housing budget and lack of urgent action from the Scottish Government.

“If ministers fail to deliver the 110,000 new affordable homes by 2032, they will turn their backs on the thousands of people in Scotland who are being harmed by temporary accommodation while waiting for their forever home.

“Homelessness is rising across the country, and this is the opportunity for our new cabinet secretary for housing to lead in tackling the housing emergency and do things differently. We need homes for people experiencing homelessness and to get those 10,360 children out of temporary accommodation. This must start with sustained investment for more social homes.”