Housing associations in Scotland have welcomed proposals for a dedicated agency to drive delivery of affordable homes, but warned that its work will need underpinning by further public investment.
Last week, Scotland’s First Minister, John Swinney announced the intention to establish the new executive agency, called More Homes Scotland. The focus would be on “simplicity, scale and speed” to enable the delivery of all types of housing, with the aim of meeting housing need across the country.
“Scotland is facing a housing emergency,” Swinney said. “We recognise the difficulty that many Scots – in particular young Scots – have finding a home they can afford to rent or buy. We have firm foundations and have recently stepped up our efforts. The 2026-27 draft Scottish Budget includes the single largest funding allocation to affordable housing since records began in 1989.
“We have committed to invest up to £4.9bn over the next four years, backed by a record £4.1bn of public investment, helping to deliver 36,000 affordable homes and providing a place to live for around 24,000 children. This is providing record funding and more multi-year certainty than ever before.
“This, along with other policy measures, has given confidence to the investment community. However, we must have a public sector delivery model that can rise to our enhanced ambitions.”
That’s where the new agency comes in. Subject to the outcome of the elections to the Scottish Parliament in May this year, it is billed to started operating from 2027-28, becoming fully functional in 2028-29.
More Homes Scotland would focus on a number of key areas – large-scale affordable housing projects; rural and island housing; acquiring, preparing and releasing land; enabling infrastructure work to unlock stalled sites; and closer working with the Scottish National Investment Bank (SNIB) to make best use of private finance.
According to the Scottish government, a process to co-design the functions and operating model of the new agency will be led by the cabinet secretary for housing, Màiri McAllan in partnership with local authorities and the SNIB, with an update expected to be provided to the Scottish Parliament in March.
Swinney added: “A new national agency will mean less duplication, greater expertise, increased efficiencies, and making our substantial investment go further. It will also provide enhanced support to our local authority partners and we will work in partnership with the Scottish National Investment Bank to attract more commercial investment.”
He went on to say: “More Homes Scotland will meet the needs of this time. It will deliver – for a new generation of Scots – new homes more quickly, more affordably, in more liveable, climate friendly communities.”
David Ritchie chief executive of the SNIB, said: “The bank has invested more than £130m in housing to date, with a robust pipeline of more potential housing investments. We welcome More Homes Scotland being established to bring momentum in finding housing solutions.
“As a mission-led investor, the bank makes commercial investments that drive long-term societal and economic growth for Scotland. Our ‘Place’ mission is focused on improving communities, and a good home is a key tenet of that.
“Working with private investors and homebuilders we have developed innovative approaches to unlock finance,getting much-needed homes built across Scotland.”
Laser focus
The Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) has welcomed the proposals for the new agency, saying it recognises social and affordable housing as a “key driver” of both economic growth and tackling poverty, but added that it will need further funding to deliver its aims.
Richard Meade, the SFHA’s chief executive, said: “Whilst we await further details on the proposals for a new housing agency, we do appreciate the Scottish government’s willingness to explore reforms which can accelerate the delivery of the safe, warm and affordable homes Scotland needs to end the housing emergency.
“It is crucial, however, that any reforms to delivery are underpinned by significantly increased public funding – beyond what has already been announced in the Scottish Budget and Spending Review.
“We know from the research, that over the course of the next parliament, meeting Scotland’s housing need will require annual public investment of £1.6bn to deliver the 15,693 social and affordable homes we must build each year.
“Any new housing agency must work in partnership with Scotland’s housing associations and co-operatives and be laser-focused in our shared mission to deliver the secure, warm and affordable homes everyone deserves.”
Main image: First Minister John Swinney (left) visits a housing development in Wallyford, East Lothian, where he announced More Homes Scotland. Credit: Scottish government
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