Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) - Deliverability Review

Annex B: 2025-2026 Programme for Government

As outlined in the Programme for Government on 6th May 2025, housing continues to be a clear priority for the Scottish Government in the year ahead, with a range of actions being taken to ensure people can access good quality, affordable homes backed by the increased investment in affordable housing of £768 million for 2025 to 20266.

The Scottish Government has a strong track record in delivering affordable housing in Scotland with latest statistics showing that from 2007 up to December 2024 more than 136,000 affordable homes have been delivered, with 97,000 of those for social rent.

On average, between 2007 to 2008 and 2023 to 2024, affordable housing supply in Scotland has been 73% higher per 10,000 population than in Wales and 47% higher per 10,000 population than in England.

As the Scottish Government continues to drive forward the response to the housing emergency, in the year ahead this will build on our activist approach in taking steps to ensure more families have access to affordable, quality homes, with key action including:

• investing £768 million in affordable housing in 2025 to 2026, the majority of which will be for social rent – supporting delivery of over 8,000 affordable homes for social rent, mid-market rent and low-cost home ownership. This investment includes up to £40 million targeted for acquisitions to help reduce the number of homeless households, especially with children, in temporary accommodation
• removing barriers on stalled housing sites to deliver up to 20,000 new homes
• investing more than £2 million through the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership to support local authorities across Scotland to driven down numbers of privately owned long-term empty homes
• more than doubling the budget – from £8.245 million last year to £20.9 million in 2025 to 2026 – to support Registered Social Landlords across Scotland to deliver around 8,500 general housing adaptations to disabled tenants who need them to ensure they can live independently in their home
• supporting completion of the Gypsy/Traveller site demonstration projects funded by the Gypsy/Traveller Accommodation Fund
• extending the Rural and Island Housing Fund to new applications to March 2028 alongside our Rural Affordable Homes for Key Workers Fund – supporting delivery of affordable homes in rural and island communities, including community-led housing
• delivering an equivalent of Awaab’s law in Scotland – ensuring landlords promptly address issues that are hazardous to tenants’ health
• tackling homelessness by implementing the new Housing (Scotland) Bill and strengthening tenants’ rights, including through the introduction of a system for longer term rent controls
• investing £1 million to prevent homelessness and protect tenants’ rights
• investing £4 million in homelessness prevention pilots in 2025 to 20-26
• implement the recommendations of the Housing Investment Taskforce to unlock new investment opportunities across all tenures.