Housing Statistics for Scotland, 2024-25

Housing stock by tenure 

As of 31st March 2024, it was estimated that 60% of the 2.73 million dwellings in Scotland were owner-occupied, 23% were social rented properties, 13% were privately rented or lived in rent-free and 4% were vacant or second homes. 

New housing supply (new build, rehabilitations, and net conversions) 

9,779 new homes were added to the housing stock in 2024–25. This was 628 fewer homes (a 3% decrease) than in 2023–24. 2024–25 was the lowest total of new housing supply since 2017–18, except for 2020–21, when the COVID 19 pandemic restrictions impacted housebuilding.  

Social rented sector  

There were 638,065 homes in the social rented sector as of 31st March 2025, a 1% (or 5,035) increase compared with the previous year.  

During 2024–25, there were 26,602 permanent lettings of local authority housing. This was 1,179 more lets than the previous year, an increase of 5%. Nearly half of these homes (49%) were given to homeless households. A further 25% went to people on housing waiting lists, 21% were transfers for existing tenants, and 1% fell into other categories. 

In 2024–25, councils issued 16,543 notices to start eviction proceedings against tenants. This was similar (-0.6% difference) compared with 2023–24 but was 33% lower than before the pandemic in 2019–20. There were 676 cases that ended in eviction or tenants abandoning their homes. Most of these cases (94%) were because of rent arrears rather than antisocial behaviour or other reasons. 

As of 31 March 2025, there were 180,074 housing applications recorded across 26 local council (or common housing register) waiting lists. This was 1% higher than in March 2024, an increase of 2,228 households. It is the highest figure since March 2013. These figures exclude local authorities that do not have local authority housing stock, such as Glasgow. People can also apply to more than one council and can apply for both council and housing association homes, so some households may be counted more than once. 

Local authority supported housing 

In March 2025 there were 20,754 supported houses for older people and 32,111 supported houses for people with physical disabilities provided by local authorities. The total number of supported housing for older people and people with physical disabilities has increased by 27% in 10 years.  

Scheme of assistance for homes 

The Scheme of Assistance provides financial and non-financial support to homeowners and private tenants in Scotland to repair, maintain, improve, or adapt their homes, particularly for disabled or vulnerable residents. 

In 2024–25, 5,157 Scheme of Assistance grants were paid to householders, a 15% decrease (or 881 fewer grants) than 2023–2024. The total Scheme of Assistance spend was £35 million, of which £26.6 million was spent on grants. 

Houses in multiple occupation licences  

As of 31st March 2025, there were a total of 15,449 houses in multiple occupation licences in force, an increase of 1% since the previous year. 

Background 

Commentary on more recent data on house building completions as well as house building starts and approvals can be found in the housing statistics quarterly update publications.  

Background information including Excel tables and explanatory information on data sources and quality can be found in the Housing Statistics webpages. 

Official statistics are produced in accordance with the Code of Practice for Statistics.