Scottish Spending Review 2026

Chapter 11 Housing

The Housing portfolio is focused on delivering good quality, safe, secure and warm homes that support Scotland’s national missions to eradicate child poverty, grow the economy and improve wellbeing for individuals and communities. It is responsible for affordable housing delivery, tackling homelessness, protecting tenants’ rights, ensuring building safety, and transforming domestic energy use to tackle fuel poverty and drive the shift to efficient, low carbon heating.

Across the spending review period, the portfolio will continue addressing the housing emergency by working to end homelessness and advancing the affordable homes programme, which has already delivered more than 141,000 affordable homes since 2007 meaning Scotland has significantly more affordable homes per head than England and Wales. Over the next four years, we will invest up to £4.9 billion – including a record £4.1 billion of public sector funding – to support delivery of 36,000 affordable homes and our wider all-tenure ambition. As part of this, we will work collaboratively with partners, including the Scottish National Investment Bank (SNIB), to accelerate housing investment, leverage additional private investment and boost overall housing supply. This intervention is estimated to provide warm, safe housing for up to 24,000 children, helping reduce child poverty, limit the use of unsuitable temporary accommodation and support economic growth.

Improving the quality of existing housing stock is also a priority. Awaab’s Law will be introduced in both social and private rented sectors, beginning with action on damp and mould, ensuring hazards to tenants’ health and safety are addressed swiftly.

Efforts to prevent and end homelessness will continue, with targeted support for groups at higher risk, including women experiencing domestic abuse.

Progress will also continue on the Cladding Remediation Programme, delivering Single Building Assessments centrally and through local authorities. A pragmatic, risk based approach will ensure targeted safety interventions and focus resources where they deliver the greatest life safety benefit. This work supports the national outcome of creating empowered, resilient and safe communities. High quality housing also underpins health, wellbeing, security, economic and educational outcomes, while contributing to net zero goals through improved energy efficiency.

The portfolio will further expand energy efficiency and clean heat solutions, including developing a heat network industry to decarbonise Scotland’s building stock, reduce fuel poverty and strengthen the green economy. Heat in Buildings schemes will directly reduce emissions, help households save on energy bills, and support energy installation and maintenance jobs across Scotland.

Over the next five years, around 20,000 households each year, including 12,000 in or at risk of fuel poverty, will receive support for energy efficiency and clean heat improvements. This is alongside continued investment in heat networks, SMEs, and the public sector.

Note: The Affordable Housing Supply Programme comprises of Capital, Transfer of Management of Development Funding and Financial Transactions. The total public sector investment in AHSP over the spending review is £4.1 billion. Funding for each year is as follows: £925.9 million in 2026-27, £953.4 million in 2027-28, £1,036.2 in 2028-29 and £1,184.6 in 2029-30.