Scotland is facing a 'disastrous' slump in the number of homes being planned for those in need - with 7500 being wiped out of future and past plans in the nation's housing emergency, the Herald can reveal.

According to an analysis by the Scotland's housing regulator, seen by the Herald, 4084 new homes were removed from the plans of social landlords in the last three years alone.

Meanwhile some 22,577 new homes are forecast to be build or bought in the next five years by social landlords, but that is a huge drop of 3505 compared to their registered projections made last year.

Social landlords built or bought 5022 new homes in 2023/24 alone, 1087 less than had been planned, according to the overview of five year financial projections.

And the regulator has said that social landlords have said that "uncertainty" over the future availability of grant funding was one of the main reasons for the drop in planned new homes.

The Scottish Government's affordable homes budget which provides grants to develop housing has taken a cumulative hit of over £280m over the past three years without taking inflation into account - based against the 2021/22 allocation of £779.776m - despite a pledge by outgoing First Minister Humza Yousaf of a £80m uplift for affordable housing over the next two years.

Another key reason given by the regulator was "significant inflation" in construction costs.

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Other factors have included cost inflation in maintaining existing homes and uncertainty on what they will need to spend on meeting the Scottish Government plan to decarbonise social homes.

Six years ago, the Scottish Government launched an action plan to build affordable homes which was meant to curb homelessness, cut the use of temporary accommodation and rapidly rehouse people.

(Image: PA)

Housing campaigners have been concerned by a £196m (26%) cut to the affordable homes budget in the 2024/25 alone, without taking into account inflation, with the spending plans set at £555.862m before an extra £40m was promised by Mr Yousaf.

If the budget had kept up with inflation since 2021/22 in 2024/25, it is estimated the spending plans would have been at £958.32m.

When inflation has been taken into account, instead of getting £2.6bn over the three years - the affordable homes budget is at £2.06bn - an estimated drop of £570m.

It comes after a Herald investigation not the housing scandal revealed that every day 50 Scots children are being hit by homelessness while the numbers languishing in halfway house temporary accommodation because they cannot be found settled homes has more than trebled in 20 years.

Some 18,400 children are included among the 64,000 Scots within families who have been seeking homelessness support from councils last year.

Councils have seen a near 4800 rise in the number of Scots who were declaring they did not have a home to go to in just four years despite widespread attempts to curb homelessness.

The Scottish Tenants' Organisation (STO) said the drop off in the building of new social rented homes was "disastrous" and that it showed "a rapid decline in building social rented homes while our homeless numbers increase to record levels during the housing emergency in Scotland".

It added: "We need the new Labour Government at Westminster to increase capital spending and the existing Scottish Government to get its finger out to tackle the housing emergency in Scotland as our number one priority for if they do not they are condemning a generation of children to permanent poverty."

Tenants rights group Living Rent said: "It is no wonder that Scotland is facing a housing emergency when nothing has been done to stop the removal of thousands of homes from social landlords' plans. And it is beyond belief that this problem is being allowed to continue.

"Every tenant agrees. Scotland needs more social housing. The government should be prioritising this at every stage: from providing funding to supporting the completion of homes to stock buyback. Declaring the emergency should have pushed the government to take proper, concrete steps to fix the housing crisis but instead we have seen inadequate statements and limited funding."

It comes as the turnover of homes becoming empty and relet, essential to ensure there is enough homes for people in need has also slumped, with around 45,000 available in 2023/24, 5000 fewer than before the pandemic when over five years it was consistently at around 50,000.

Meanwhile, the Scottish Government has since fallen way behind in a key target in its 2021 Programme for Government to deliver 110,000 social and affordable homes by 2032 with 70% for social rent.

There have been 19,980 affordable homes completed, that have received some sort of public money support in the first two years till March 31 this year - meaning it is already 2,620 short of an 11,300 homes a year target.

But concerns have deepened around the number of starts to affordable homes which makes the future of completions far bleaker.

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In the very same two years there were just 13,655 affordable homes begun, against a target over the period of 22,600.

It is the lowest return over a two year period for nearly a decade.

With seven years and nine months of the target to go 90,020 homes remain to be completed to meet the target, at an average of over 11,600 a year.

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It was on May 15, that the Scottish Government declared a housing emergency - nearly a year after the first of ten local authorities beat them to the punch.

Argyll and Bute council was the first to make a symbolic statement in June 2023, stating that it was a "call to action" to tackle what it saw as a housing shortage.

Joining Argyll and Bute in making emergency declarations was Edinburgh, Glasgow City in November last year followed by Fife, West Dunbartonshire, Scottish Borders, West Lothian and South Lanarkshire, Angus and Dumfries and Galloway.

Living Rent chairman Aditi Jehangir said: "This failure of leadership will continue to have huge ramifications on Scottish people, not just now but in years to come. Without more social housing, tenants will continue to continue to be hit hard by the unaffordable private sector, insecure housing and an overall increase in poverty. We need action now."

STO campaign co-ordinator Sean Clerkin added: "The lower turnover in social rented homes in Scotland means there are far fewer existing social rented homes available to house homeless people compounding this housing disaster."

Paul McLennan (Image: Newsquest)

Housing minister Paul McLennan said: “Since 2007, we have supported the delivery of more than 131,000 affordable homes, with more than 93,000 of those being for social rent. We will invest nearly £600 million in affordable housing in 2024-25, the majority of which will be for social rent.

“We will continue to work collaboratively with our partners and stakeholders across the housing sector to tackle the housing emergency.”