Housing Need and Demand Assessment (HNDA) A Practitioners Guide (2026)

What is Refreshed in 2026?

The HNDA Tool and all three HNDA guides have been refreshed based but the approach and process remain largely the same.

The main changes include:

• updated data inputted to the HNDA Tool for household projections, existing housing need (HoTOC), house prices, rent prices and incomes
• all income and house price scenarios and economic assumptions have been updated based on the latest economic outlook
• some clarification about the estimation of existing housing need
• new accessible format applied to each HNDA guide
• the Specialist Provision section includes two additional categories of care and support needs for children living in poverty and homeless households or those at risk of homelessness. Key workers have also been included
• additional guidance on HNDAs in rural and island areas
• more focus on empty homes, second homes and short-term lets
• providing more information on quality assurance
• core output one includes some additional items which are shown in the text below:

“Core Output One - Identifies key factors driving the local housing market [new text follows] and explains what each of them may mean for the future of housing in the area and in terms of what scenarios may be chosen to run in the HNDA Tool”

• core output four has some additional items which are shown in the underlined text below;

“stock should be considered by size, type, condition, occupancy (overcrowding and under-occupancy), concealed families and turnover (re-lets and voids), tenure and location. [New text follows] Empty homes, second homes and short-term lets should also be included. Show the amount of home ownership in the area in the context of the various routes/ schemes into home ownership. Show the amount of affordable housing in the area by the different type of affordable housing”

• the use of time series has also been added to the core outputs
• some guidance on using sensitivity testing when deciding which variables to use in HNDA Tool before the final scenarios are chosen by authorities

Comparability with Previous HNDAs

For unitary local authorities, the outputs of the previous HNDAs will be comparable to the current HNDA. Where groups of local authorities work together as a City Region to produce an HNDA, these will be comparable with previous SDPA HNDAs but also slightly different where a local authority has decided not to part of a regional grouping.

Those authorities who are part way through their HNDA at the time of this refresh can continue to use the previous version of the Tool (v4.0) and guidance should they wish to or they can choose to use the refreshed version of the Tool (v5.0) and guidance. Authorities who are in this position may wish to contact the Centre for Housing Market Analysis for advice.

Scottish Government Planning Reform

NPF4 introduced a Minimum All Tenure Housing Land Requirement (MATHLR). The expectation is that planning authorities should go beyond and exceed the MATHLR as they prepare Local Development Plans (LDP). The MATHLR is based, in part, on two outputs from the HNDA Tool (v4.0) i.e. household projections over ten years and existing housing need. More information about the MATHLR can be found on the website Scottish Government National Planning Framework 4.

Advice on how the MATHLR and HNDA connect to LDPs is set out in Local Development Planning Guidance. It outlines that where more recent information than the HNDA is available, this should be used.

It remains the case that a full HNDA is a key part of the LHS process and is required to inform the development of the LHS. We expect local authority housing and planning functions to work closely in the development of the HNDA. HNDAs will be updated every five years. Local Authorities will want to consider the timing of the HNDA to ensure that it informs both the development of a LHS and the Evidence Report for the Local Development Plan (LDP).

The MATHLR, as reflected in NPF4, can be referred to in both the HNDA and LHS however the HNDA and LHS should not be constrained to the assumptions and outputs of the MATHLR.

Accessibility and content of HNDA

For the accessibility and content of HNDA, local authorities should ensure their HNDA meets accessibility standards and are encouraged to consider the needs of the audience and assess which, if any, alternative format versions are likely to be required. Accessible information is giving information in a way that is accessible to as many people as possible and considering the language used and how it is presented.

The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018 includes legal requirements for accessible information and websites. New public bodies and websites have been obliged to comply with these regulations since 2018 and public bodies with older websites were required to comply fully as of 2020.

Local authorities may wish to consider the Inclusive Communication Hub hosted by Disability Scotland which is aimed at anyone with an interest in improving their inclusive communication tools and processes. Some best practice accessibility principles are summarised below:

• when creating a Word document use a default font size of at least 12 point
• use fonts that are sans serif
• creating headings using the Styles
• images must have alternative text
• link text should be descriptive and convey accurate information about the link destination
• use the Accessibility Checker to review the document for any issues

For suggestions about making Excel tables accessible please see:

• accessible spreadsheets: a checklist of the basics – Government Analysis Function
• releasing statistics in spreadsheets – Government Analysis Function