Housing Statistics 2022 & 2023: Key Trends Summary

A snapshot of the local authority housing list on 31st March 2023 shows 175,092 applications. A 5% increase, or 8,019 more households than 2022, although the latest figure is 23% below the peak in 2002 – illustrated in Chart 13.

Chart 13: The number of housing list applicants has increased between March 2022 and March 2023

Of the 175,092 applications on local authority or common housing register lists, 45,200 (26%) were recorded as being on transfer lists and 129,900 (74%) 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 wish to access social housing. This is because people can apply to more than one local authority, and they also can apply for both council and Registered Social Landlords housing. Multiple counting has become less of an issue over time due to the increase in 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.

The 2022 Scottish Household Survey (SHS) estimates that there are a total of 100,000 (4%) households reporting to be on a housing list, with a further 10,000 (0.4%) households having applied for social housing using a choice based letting system or similar within the last year. Some caution is advised when considering this estimate, due to the slight under representation of rented sector households within the 2022 SHS sample, leading to an under estimation of total households on housing lists.

The Scottish Household Survey is a key data source for information on social housing. Please note comparisons over time should consider that:

• changes were made to the questions in 2017 to better capture households who are using choice-based lettings when seeking social housing.
• the 2020 survey was conducted by telephone rather than in person due to COVID-19 restrictions.
• the 2022 results have been assessed to be comparable in the most part to 2019 and earlier years. However, the 2022 results for tenure should be treated with caution, as there is evidence to suggest that social rented and private rented households may be slightly under-represented in the 2022 achieved sample.

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