Scotland housing and homelessness statistics

Scotland's new parliament

We believe that change to Scotland’s housing system is needed now, more than ever.

That is why we are calling for urgent action. Scotland needs:

• 15,693 social homes every year to begin reducing homelessness

• a new national housing agency focused on reducing affordable housing need

• delivery of the funding that local authorities need to uphold people's housing rights and move out of systemic failure

• a clear restatement that people's lifeline housing rights are not going to be rolled back

You can read our key policy asks in full in our 2026 Delivery Plan.

Homeless applications

There were 35,002 households assessed as homeless or threatened with homelessness in the year to March 2026.

This is less than a 1% increase from the same period last year, but still means that a household becomes homeless in Scotland every 15 minutes.

Households assessed as homeless or threatened with homelessness in Scotland, September 2017 to 31st March 2026

Homeless children in Scotland

In the year to March 2026, there were 14,222 children assessed as homeless.

This is the equivalent of 39 children in Scotland becoming homeless every day.

To prevent homelessness, we must fundamentally tackle Scotland’s housing emergency and fix the broken and biased housing system.

Read our strategy to find out how we’ll do this.

Data source: Scottish Government - Homelessness in Scotland: update to March 2026

Temporary accommodation

People have the right to temporary accommodation while the local authority makes a decision on their homeless application, and, if they're unintentionally homeless, until permanent accommodation is found.

On 31st March 2026, there were 19,004 households trapped in temporary accommodation. This is a 10% increase compared to 31st March 2025 and is the highest number on record.

10,567 households were living in temporary accommodation on 31st March 2015. Numbers rose steadily to 11,665 households in March 2020. During the pandemic figures increased sharply, to 14,151 households by 30th September 2020. There was a slight decrease by 2022, but since then the figure has sharply increased each year.

Households in temporary accommodation in Scotland, 31st March 2016 to 31st March 2026

Data source: Scottish Government - Homelessness in Scotland: update to March 2026

Children in temporary accommodation

The latest statistics show that on 31st March 2026 there were 10,715 children living in temporary accommodation in Scotland.

This graph shows the trend of children in temporary accommodation in Scotland over time, from 2016 to 2026.

Children in temporary accommodation in Scotland, 31st March 2016 to 31st March 2026

Data source: Scottish Government - Homelessness in Scotland: update to March 2026

Households with children tend to spend longer in temporary accommodation than households without children.

In 2025/26, a couple in Scotland with children spent on average 406 days in temporary accommodation, compared to an average of 237 days for all household types.

The lack of affordable social homes in Scotland means there are not enough homes for people to move on from temporary accommodation. In particular, the lack of larger social homes means that households with children are stuck in temporary accommodation for longer.

The most effective way to address the bottleneck in temporary accommodation is to deliver the social homes we need, of the right types and in the right places. This should be a priority for the Scottish Government and local authorities.

Gatekeeping and unsuitable accommodation

We know that some people are not offered temporary accommodation when they are legally entitled to it, an experience known as ‘gatekeeping’. We also know that when temporary accommodation is offered, it is often legally unsuitable.

In the year to March 2026 there were at least 21,800 instances when a household was not offered temporary accommodation by their local authority when they had the right to it.

This is a 32% increase on the year to March 2025. Last year’s figure was itself a 45% increase on the
year before.

There were also 7,760 reported cases of households being placed in temporary accommodation which was deemed by law to be 'unsuitable'. The Scottish Government has said that reporting on this issue is unreliable and this figure is likely to be an undercount.

This is unacceptable. People must be able to access their rights to temporary accommodation. This means that accommodation is made available when it's needed, that it meets the needs of the household and that it is of sufficiently good quality.

Local authorities must, at a bare minimum, deliver their statutory duties regarding temporary accommodation and be held to account for any breaches.

Data source: Scottish Government - Homelessness in Scotland: update to March 2026

Social housing

Scotland can achieve the structural change needed to end the housing emergency by ensuring everyone has a secure, warm, and safe home. This can only be done by delivering the social homes we need.

There are currently 125,000 households on local authority housing waiting lists across Scotland.

Data source: Scottish Government (2026) - Households in Scotland by housing tenure: Scottish Household Survey, 2024

Scotland needs to build a minimum of 15,693 social homes every year of the next parliament to tackle homelessness.

Read our Housing Delivery Plan 2026 for more information.

Affordable housing supply

The Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) statistics give us information on the supply of homes for social rent, affordable rent and affordable home ownership.

Social rent

In the year to June 2026, under the AHSP, there were:

• 5,353 homes for social rent completed – a 4% decrease (249 fewer homes) on the previous year

• 5946 homes for social rent started – a 34% increase (1509 more homes) compared to the previous year

• 5,621 homes for social rent approved – a 39% increase (1568 more homes) compared the previous year

Data source: Scottish Government - Housing statistics annual update: new housebuilding and affordable housing supply to June 2026.

AHSP – All affordable tenures

This measure includes social homes, along with all other forms of affordable housing built under the AHSP.

In the 3 month period between 1st April and 30th June 2026, under the AHSP, there were:

• 351 homes for social rent approved – down 28% compared to the same quarter in 2025

• 576 homes for social rent started – down 34% compared to the same quarter in 2025

• 989 homes for social rent completed – down 3% compared to the same quarter in 2025

Data source: Scottish Government - Housing statistics annual update: new housebuilding and affordable housing supply to June 2026.

110,000 homes needed by 2032

The Scottish government made a commitment to deliver 110,000 social homes between 2021/22 and 2031/32. So far they have delivered 36,518, with 73,482 homes outstanding. This would now require a record number of homes to be built in each of the remaining years to meet that commitment

As part of the Comprehensive Spending Review in January 2026, the Scottish Government said they would build 36,000 homes in the next 4 years. Even if they manage to do this, they would need to deliver 21,192 homes in both 2030/31 and 2031/32 to meet their long term target. Given this is almost double what has been managed in any previous year, this promise is also on track to be broken.

Shelter Scotland's own research shows 15,693 social homes must be built in each year of the next parliament to see homelessness begin to fall. We know what the consequences of this failure would be for communities we support, so our work to keep the pressure on is more vital than ever.

Last updated: 29 September 2026