Termed ‘Building Tomorrow: UK Housing Delivery Analysis’ the report looks into the future of the UK’s housing delivery, providing analysis of traditional housebuilding, Build to Rent, Purpose-Built Student Accommodation, urban regeneration and the policy environment. 

The Scottish Government has vowed to provide 110,000 affordable homes by 2032 and has also announced a £4.9 billion Housing Emergency Action Plan. 

However, build starts and completions in Scotland dropped by 17% overall year on year by early last year, hitting their lowest levels since 2013, according to the report. 

The white paper also stated that it is estimated that there are 99,000 households on housing waiting lists within Scotland. 

The report claims that the issue is not centred around creating more ambitious targets, but that planning, viability, finance, building regulation, skills and technical compliance are becoming more and more tied to one another, with delays in one area potentially having an impact on a whole development programme.

Build to Rent is advancing in major cities within Scotland. Glasgow is identified alongside Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds as one of the UK’s key regional Build to Rent growth markets. 

The growth of Build to Rent outside of London is a significant development for regional cities, where brownfield land and demand for professionally managed rental housing can aid new development. According to the report, Glasgow is one of the cities seeing ongoing growth as institutional investors diversify within regional markets.

In the context of student accommodation, Glasgow has the highest student-to-bed ratio identified in the report, at 3.8 full-time students per bed. 

It is suggested in the report that the ongoing demand in university cities presents opportunities for developers and investors, but the report also insists that occupational demand is not enough to guarantee delivery. 

The white paper’s key takeaway is that rising housing supply necessitates more certainty within the process of development. For Scotland, this is indicative of making sure that planning and housing policy are supported by the funding, technical expertise and risk management needed to deliver completed housing. 

Another conclusion in the report connecting with Scotland’s housing targets is that delivery cannot be understood purely by the amount of homes completed.

The report claims that the pressure to speed up supply needs to be complemented by solid quality assurance, independent technical inspection and structural warranty provision.

Stephen Upfold, business development director, Show House, said: “Scotland provides an important perspective on the wider housing challenge examined in this report. 

“There is a clear ambition to increase affordable housing delivery, but the fall in starts and completions demonstrates how difficult it can be to translate targets into homes on the ground.”

Upfold added: “We hope this report provides a useful reference point for Scottish developers, housebuilders, investors, policymakers and housing professionals as they consider how the sector can respond to both the scale of demand and the need to deliver homes that perform for the long term.”

Mark Thompson, director, J3 Advisory, said: “The scale of Scotland’s housing requirement is clear, but delivering against that requirement in the current environment requires more than capital and planning permission.

“Developers and investors need confidence that technical, insurance and funding considerations have been addressed early enough to avoid unnecessary delays later in the programme. That becomes particularly important as projects become more complex and regulatory requirements continue to evolve.”

Thompson added: “The opportunity is significant, particularly across BTR, PBSA, affordable housing and regeneration. But turning that opportunity into delivery requires risk to be identified and managed at the earliest possible stage.”