Housing statistics 2016: key trends summary

Affordable Housing

(As previously reported on 14 June 2016): In 2015-16 there were 6,518 units completed through all Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) activity, a decrease of 551 units (8%) on the previous year. Approvals increased by 1,648 units (26%) in the latest year to reach 7,945 in 2015-16, and starts increased by 1,041 units (16%) to reach 7,682.

Throughout the period of the Scottish Government target to deliver 30,000 affordable homes including 20,000 social rented homes and 5,000 council homes between 2011-12 and 2015-16, a total of 33,490 units were completed. Of which 22,523 were for social rent (including 5,992 council homes), 3,473 were for affordable rent, and 7,494 were for affordable home ownership.

The Scottish Government's Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) funds housing for social rent, affordable rent and affordable home ownership. The AHSP funds both new build activity and other activity to increase affordable housing supply, for example off the shelf purchases, open market shared equity (OMSE), rehabilitations and support provided to home owners through the Home Ownership Support Fund (mortgage to rent and mortgage to shared equity).

The AHSP completions statistics have been used to inform the Scottish Government's target to deliver 30,000 affordable homes between 2011-12 and 2015-16 and will be used to inform the target to deliver 50,000 affordable homes between 2016-17 and 2020-21.

The number of units provided through the AHSP programme are illustrated in the charts below. Approvals are measured when funding approval is granted for all dwellings on a site. Completions are recorded when all dwellings on a site are completed.

Chart 4 shows that in 2015-16 there were 6,518 units completed through all AHSP activity - this is down by 8% compared to the 7,069 completions in the previous year.

Chart 4: Units completed through affordable housing activity: 2000-01 to 2015-16

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.

Affordable Housing Supply Completions - Scottish Government Target to deliver 30,000 affordable homes, including 20,000 social rented homes and 5,000 council homes, between 2011-12 and 2015-16

The statistics show that over the full period of the target between 2011-12 and 2015-16 there were a total of:

33,490 affordable housing supply completions, of which:

22,523 were for social rent, including 5,992 council house completions

3,473 were for other affordable rent

7,494 were for affordable home ownership

In 2015-16, 7,945 units were approved through the AHSP, representing an increase of 26% from the previous year ( Chart 5).

Chart 5: Units approved through affordable housing activity: 2000 - 01 to 2015 - 16

Since 2009-10, data on actual site starts has also been recorded. There were 7,682 starts in 2015-16 which was up 16% from 6,641 starts in 2014-15.

Over recent years it is estimated that it can take between 1 to 2 years from approval to completion of an entire new build AHSP site (of which the first 3 to 4 months would typically be the time period from approval to starting). Individual homes, or blocks of homes, might be completed in shorter timescales if parts of the site are completed in advance of the rest.

Link to tables on AHSP:
http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Housing-Regeneration/HSfS/NewBuild/AHSPtables

Scottish Government Affordable Housing Supply Programme out-turn reports:
http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Built-Environment/Housing/investment/ahip

Statistics on new house building in the other UK nations can be found through the following link to the Department for Communities and Local Government website: http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/housingstatisticsby/housebuilding/livetables/