Demolished council houses since 2007: FOI release

Information requested

Number of council or social houses which have been demolished in Scotland since 2007 by local authority, and also for how many new houses have been built in those local authorities since 2007.

Response

The information you have requested is available from the Scottish Government website. Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed below, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

The Scottish Government publish annual figures on demolitions by local authority area on the Housing statistics: Conversions and demolitions webpage. Demolitions data is provided by the local authority. Demolition figures of local authority social or council houses are thought to be accurate and generally comprise the majority of activity, but authorities differ in their ability to provide information on other tenure demolitions. For some councils this includes RSL (housing association) demolitions only where data on demolitions of privately owned properties is not available. Others rely on building warrants for demolition which may underestimate the true figure.

When this information is reported, it is presented in the categories of local authority and other tenures (housing association or private). For these other tenures, it is not always clear based on the information provided by local authorities if this relates to housing association, private sector, or both, and in some cases the figures may relate to private demolitions only, housing association demolitions only, or a combination of the two. The figures presented are therefore not able to be disaggregated into a total social figure covering local authority and housing association demolitions.

As set out in the published figures, we advise that these data should be considered as a minimum level of demolition activity in Scotland and are not comprehensive.

Separate figures on new housebuilding by local authority area are published by the Scottish Government as part of the Housing statistics quarterly update: new housebuilding and affordable housing supply. This includes tables on starts and completions by local authority area for all-sector housebuilding, Local Authority housebuilding, housing association housebuilding, and private sector led housebuilding, as well as tables on affordable housing supply. Corresponding statistical commentary and charts, mostly focussing on national figures and trends, is available as part of the Housing Statistics Quarterly Updates published on the housing statistics webpages.

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