Waiting list for ‘social housing’ estimated to be 10x the annual supply

THERE are almost ten times as many people estimated to be on waiting lists for ‘social rent’ – ie low cost – housing as there is annual supply.

According to research conducted by the organisation representing local authority chief executives and seniors managers in Scotland, there are 243,603 people currently on the waiting list for social housing but the number of annual allocations across the entire country is 26,102.

The research has been carried out by Solace, in association with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (CoSLA) and ALACHO, the representative organisation for senior housing and homelessness professionals working in Scotland’s local authorities and Health and Social Care Partnerships.

The research is titled, ‘Housing in Scotland: Current context and preparing for the future’ (here).

Adds a media release to coincide with the research’s publication: “The report notes that, from the housing wait list (243,603), those currently in temporary accommodation (14,000 households including over 9,000 children) and Ukrainians seeking safety in Scotland that are in temporary and short-term accommodation (12,000), councils are faced with a duty to house at least 269,600 people. There are also additional pressures from other humanitarian programmes. It is a very complex situation, and this is very likely to be a significant underrepresentation of the demand.”

It adds: “In 2020, ALACHO estimated that as many as 500,000 Scottish households may be living in homes that failed to meet their human rights on two or more counts.”

Picture credit: Place Design Scotland

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