Housing Lists

A snapshot of the local authority housing list on 31st March 2024 shows 177,264 applications. A 1.2% increase or 2,172 more households than 2023, although the latest figure is 22% below the peak in 2002. This is illustrated in Chart 6.

Chart 6: The number of housing list applicants has increased between March 2023 and March 2024.

Of the 177,264 applications on local authority or common housing register lists, 42,000 (23.7%) were recorded as being on transfer lists and 135,300 (76.3%) on waiting lists for entry into social housing.

However, seven out of twenty-six local authorities with housing stocks do not have separate waiting and transfer lists. Where this is the case, everyone is counted on waiting lists and none on the transfer list. This means that the waiting list figure is over-estimated, and the transfer list figure is under-estimated.

There are several other points to consider when considering waiting list data:

• the separate reporting of waiting and transfer lists by local authorities has changed over time, which means historic trends are not consistent or reliable.
• Some applicants may no longer need a social house if, for example, they take up tenancies with other housing providers, however they may not be removed from the housing list immediately.
• The administrative data reported through Local Authority and Common Housing Register collections do not include six local authorities (including Glasgow) which have transferred all their housing stock to Registered Social Landlords.
• The number of applications is reported rather than actual numbers of people who wish to access social housing. It should be noted that people can apply to more than one local authority, and they also can apply for both council and Registered Social Landlords housing, leading to multiple counting on housing lists, although this has become less of an issue over time due to the increase in use of Common Housing Registers.

Population/household surveys are a useful source of information to provide additional insight on the population waiting for social housing. Since 2013, a question on housing lists was introduced to the Scottish Household Survey. This survey avoids double counting and covers the whole of Scotland. Although it does not cover the population living in communal establishments or in temporary accommodation.

Further detailed Local Authority administrative data are available in the housing lists Excel web tables.