By Lucy Ashton
Working-age families are “paying the price” for the SNP’s failure to build affordable homes, Scottish Labour has warned after the number of Scots renting from a private landlord has soared.
Census data published today revealed that the number of people who rent from a private landlord or letting agency rose by 18 percent between 2011 and 2022, with around one third of Scots now renting overall.
At the same time, home ownership levels fell for Scots aged between 35 and 64 – indicating that those struggling to get on the housing ladder are increasingly of working age and likely to be seeking a stable home for their family.
As mortgages are usually paid over a 20 or 30-year period, it can become increasingly difficult to get an affordable mortgage as people get older.
While the proportion of under 35s owning their own home increased slightly, the census did not record whether they had any help from parents.
The data comes after figures obtained by Scottish Labour show that on average rents contested by tenants in Scotland jumped by an average of 20 percent following the end of the temporary rent freeze in April 2024, with one landlord attempting to raise rents by 186 percent.
Labour housing spokesperson Mark Griffin and Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
Mark Griffin, Scottish Labour Housing spokesperson said: “Scottish Labour believes that everyone who wants to own their own home should have a pathway to do so but these figures show homeownership remains a far-off dream for too many Scots.
“The SNP has been in power for the entire time the census covers, but rather than coming up with a plan for Scots who want to move out of the private rented sector, it has slashed the affordable housing budget, let house building crumble on its watch and failed to come up with a sustainable solution for renters.
“Because there is nowhere else for them to go, working families and young people without a Bank of Mum and Dad are stuck in the private rental sector, often spending more and more on soaring rents.
“Rachel Reeves has pledged to build 1.5million homes in England – tackling the housing emergency in Scotland requires similar focus to increase to housing supply, ensuring people are able to get onto the housing ladder and into social and affordable homes.”
Tenure
|
Tenure
|
Number of households in 2011
|
Number of households in 2022
|
% change
|
|
Owns with a mortgage/ loan
|
800,175
|
713,209
|
-11%
|
|
Private landlord or letting agency
|
263,459
|
311,527
|
+18%
|
|
Social Rent
|
576,414
|
564,527
|
-2%
|
|
Owns outright
|
660,643
|
851,132
|
+29%
|
Around 63% of households in Scotland owned their own home in 2022.
- The increase in households owning outright is related to the ageing population in Scotland. The majority of the increase in households owning outright was due to increases in older age groups.
- 135,200 more householders aged 65 and over owning outright in 2022, compared to 2011. Around two thirds (67.5%) of householders aged 65 owned outright.
- The percentage of 35-49 year olds who own their own home has decreased from 2011-2022 by around 3%
- Around one in forty households in Scotland (2.4%) had at least one fewer bedroom than required but around one in twenty (4.7%) households in the Glasgow City council are were overcrowded. Dundee City had the next highest rate of overcrowding
This piece is utterly inconsistent with the realities of Dumbarton and the Vale.
During the last Labour government there was no council house building.
But look around Dumbarton and the Vale these last fifteen years.
Haldane new houses. New house old Bonhill. New house Beechwood Bonhill. New houses Alexandria Main Street. New house Bellsmyre. New houses Renton. New houses Dumbarton Quay. New houses Castlehill.
In total the building of the foregoing social housing run into the thousands with some of the areas utterly transformed.
Moreover some ten years, ago some tens of thousands of council houses across Scotland were had their thermal efficiencies upgraded under a scheme called Scottish Quality Housing 2015. Through this thousand of council and other social houses across West Dunbartonshire alone had new cladding installed to huge benefit to tenants.
New build owner occupier development has also been extensive across Dumbarton and the Vale. Just look around and they are there to see.
Of course the foregoing will never be enough. Moreover with the new Westminster government just having declared that there will be ten years of hardship due to the economic mismanagement of the Tories, it certainly doesn’t look like that government will be increasing funding to building more new affordable houses any time soon.
Say one thing, do another, it’s their way. But we know that’s true as the chopping of winter heating support to pensioners has just shown.