Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Statistics: Scottish Local Authority Housing Income and Expenditure 1997-98 to 2021-22 (actuals) 2022-23 (estimates)

3 Local Authority housing stock

(chart 1) (table 5)

3.1. There were 316,133 council houses in Scotland as at March 2022. This is an increase of 1,934 houses since March 2021. However, the number is forecast to rise to 318,836 (up 2,703) by March 2023. The number of council houses had fallen by around 50% since 1997. About 150,000 of the 315,000 reduction was due to sales to sitting tenants under Right-To-Buy (RtB), around 115,000 was due to the transfer by 6 councils of their total housing stock to Housing Associations and about 50,000 was due to demolition of unsuitable stock.

3.2 The decrease in council housing stock has slowed in recent years, particularly from 2008 and has increased in the last four years of reporting. This is mainly because of reductions in council house sales under RtB to sitting tenants and additions to council housing through new council house building. Seventeen councils had increases in their council housing stock at March 2020. It should be noted that the provision to end RtB - with a two year notice period - was included in the Housing (Scotland) Act 2014 and the scheme subsequently closed to all new applicants on 31 July 2016.