Cllr Maureen Chalmers: Housing is the foundation of Scotland’s future and local government must be trusted to deliver it

Scotland’s housing crisis is no longer a minor policy concern but has the potential to determine if this is indeed a modern, caring country. If the true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members, then surely finding those people a home must be our priority.

Housing pressures now cut across every major national priority, from tackling homelessness and poverty to delivering net zero, sustaining local economies and rebuilding trust in democratic institutions. Scotland will not meet these challenges through centralised control or short-term interventions. The route to an improved housing offer lies in empowering local government with the funding certainty, flexibility and authority required to respond to local realities and deliver lasting outcomes.

A national emergency, experienced locally

Demand for affordable housing continues to outstrip supply across much of Scotland. 13 local authorities have declared housing emergencies with waiting lists growing, homelessness support services under strain, and councils increasingly forced to divert scarce resources into crisis response rather than prevention. These pressures are not theoretical, they are felt daily by families, communities and frontline services.

Local authorities are best placed to understand the distinct needs of their areas, whether urban, rural or island. Yet too often, national policy frameworks limit councils’ ability to act decisively. Housing supply must increase, but it must do so through a system that enables place-based decision-making, rather than constraining it.

Devolving the affordable housing supply programme

One of COSLA’s clearest housing asks is the devolution of management of the Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) to councils. At present, councils are responsible for identifying need and developing proposals, but funding decisions remain tightly controlled at a national level. This results in delay, administrative burden and a disconnect between local priorities and national approvals.

Devolving the AHSP would allow councils to respond quickly to changing local housing pressures, coordinate investment with wider community planning priorities and align national funding with local resources and innovative delivery models.

This reform is particularly urgent given that current grant levels cover only a fraction of the true cost of building new social homes, with the remainder effectively borne by tenants. Without greater flexibility and transparency, this model is neither fair nor sustainable.

Tackling historic barriers to investment

We’re also calling on the Scottish Government to work jointly with local government to lobby Westminster to write off historic Housing Revenue Account (HRA) debt. This legacy debt continues to restrict councils’ capacity to invest in new homes, maintain existing stock and retrofit properties to meet climate targets.

Writing off this debt would not be a technical adjustment; it would be a structural reset. It would free up tenant-funded resources for direct reinvestment in housing quality, energy efficiency and new supply, precisely the outcomes national policy seeks to achieve.

Planning reform that enables delivery

Housing delivery cannot be separated from the health of Scotland’s planning system. Councils are clear that workforce shortages, increased complexity and under-resourcing are slowing decision making and undermining confidence for developers and communities alike.

Streamlining planning processes, investing in skills and allowing greater local discretion would help unlock stalled developments and accelerate delivery. Planning reform must be designed to support sustainable growth, not hinder it.

Certainty, flexibility and trust

Underlying all COSLA’s housing asks is a wider call for fair, flexible multi-year funding for local government. Without funding certainty, councils cannot plan housing investment at scale or integrate it with transport, infrastructure and public services.

This is about trust, not simply about money. We need to see a renewed commitment to the principles of the Verity House Agreement and a relationship between national and local government based on parity of esteem and shared outcomes.

A clear choice for the next Parliament

The next Scottish Government will inherit a housing system under severe strain, but also an opportunity to reset how Scotland delivers homes and builds communities. We can continue with centralised control and incremental change or trust local government to lead delivery with the right tools and freedoms.

Housing is about so much more than bricks and mortar. It is the foundation upon which thriving places, resilient communities and economic confidence are built. If Scotland is serious about enabling everyone to live well locally, then empowering councils to deliver an improved housing offer must be a defining priority of the next Parliament. Because in the end, a society that cannot provide a safe, secure home for its most vulnerable cannot credibly claim to be modern or caring at all.