With the theme of this year’s Scottish Housing Day on 16 September, being ‘healthy homes, healthy futures’, SLE has said that the accessibility to good quality housing is especially important for rural areas.

Anna Gardiner, senior policy adviser (business and property) for SLE, said: “Rural housing is about far more than the number of homes delivered. 

“Every new home can help a local business recruit staff, enable a family to remain in the area, support vital services and strengthen the future of a community.

“As we mark Scottish Housing Day, there is an opportunity to look beyond traditional measures of success and recognise housing as essential economic infrastructure, underpinning thriving rural economies and resilient communities across Scotland.”

SLE has said that in Scotland, delivering rural housing is typically more expensive and less commercially viable than in urban areas as a result of smaller scale developments, bigger infrastructure costs and generally lower market values.

Gardiner also said: “New homes support jobs and help build a stronger rural economy.  Many rural homes will never generate the financial returns expected of a purely commercial development.  

“However, a narrow economic assessment misses the wider value of housing to rural communities, their local economies and public services.”

Gardiner commented: “We have worked closely with the Scottish government to ensure that legislation is subject to a meaningful Rural Impact Assessment. 

“The same principle should apply to housing investment decisions. Alongside delivery targets, government should assess how housing contributes to workforce mobility, demographic sustainability, business growth and community resilience in rural Scotland.”

SLE asserted that whilst the Scottish government has acknowledged that rural households see higher costs when moving to clean heating systems, that acknowledgment does not apply to the private rented sector. 

SLE has said enabling existing homes to stay warm, occupied and maintained needs to be viewed as an investment in rural communities, rather than just a cost.