Housing statistics quarterly update: June 2019

Affordable Housing Supply – up to end March 2019

Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) statistics reflect the broader supply of affordable homes (i.e. for social rent, affordable rent and affordable home ownership) and include off the shelf purchases and rehabilitations as well as new builds. The social rent new build element of this covers largely the same houses referred to in the social sector new build section of this report. Statistics for the AHSP are available up to the end of March 2018. As a result they have been presented here for the year to end March. This differs from the figures in much of the remainder of this report which cover years to end September.

Changes in the funding programme in 2011 and 2012 impacted on the timing of affordable housing activity as well as the level of activity and this should be borne in mind when making comparisons over time.

Approvals, starts and completions are all measured for the AHSP. Approval is the point at which funding is granted and, along with completion, is a significant part of the administration process meaning that the data should be of good quality. Starts meanwhile can be recorded at any point in the development, for example when site clearance begins or any point up to the beginning of ground works for foundations. As a result approvals are generally deemed a better measure than starts for AHSP data.

Social Rent includes Housing Association Rent, Council House Rent as well as Home Owner Support Fund Rent.

Affordable Rent includes Mid-Market Rent (MMR), National Housing Trust (NHT) Rent as well as other programmes such as the Empty Homes Loan Fund (EHLF) and Rural Homes for Rent (RHfR).

Affordable Home Ownership includes Open Market Shared Equity (OMSE), New Supply Shared Equity (NSSE), Shared Ownership (LCHO) as well as other programmes such as Home Owner Support Fund Shared Equity.

Quarterly affordable housing supply statistics are used to inform the Scottish Government target to deliver 50,000 affordable homes, including 35,000 homes for social rent, over the period 2016/17 to 2020/21, and reflect the number of affordable homes delivered that have received some form of government support through loans, grant or guarantees.

Chart 10: Annual Affordable House Supply Programme (AHSP) approvals and completions, years to end MArch, 2009 to 2019

A total of 3,640 affordable homes were completed in the quarter between January and March 2019, an increase of 9%, or 296 homes when compared to the equivalent quarter in the previous year. This brings the total for the year to end March 2019 to 9,535, up 12% (1,001 homes) on the 8,534 completions in the previous year.

Between January and March 2019 a total of 5,013 affordable homes were approved. This is 1,415 (22%) less than in the same quarter in the previous year. It brings the total for the year to end March 2019 to 11,130 approvals, down 5% (547 homes) on the previous year, but an increase of 77% on the 6,297 approvals in 2015.

There were 3,693 affordable homes started in the quarter between January and March 2019, a 15% increase, or 487 more homes than the same quarter last year. This brings the total for the year to end March 2019 to 10,872, up 3% (303 homes) on the 10,569 starts in the previous year.

Chart 11 below shows that total affordable housing supply programme completions increased by 12% in 2019 (year to end March). In the latest year, social rent completions accounted for 69% of all completions, with affordable rent and affordable home ownership making up 10% and 21% of the total, respectively.

Chart 12 below shows that the total affordable housing supply programme approvals decreased by 5% in 2019 (year to end March). In the latest year, social rent approvals accounted for 68% of all approvals, with affordable rent and affordable home ownership making up 11% and 20% of the total, respectively.

Chart 11: AHSP Completions, years to end March, 2009 to 2019

Chart 12: AHSP Approvals, years to end March, 2009 to 2019