The case for social housing is strong
Let's be clear: social housing works. It provides genuinely affordable, secure homes for people who need them most. Scotland has a proud tradition of council and housing association provision, and that tradition is worth defending and expanding.
Glasgow YIMBY is not opposed to social housing. We want more of it. The question is whether opposing all private development is the right strategy for achieving that — and the evidence suggests it is not.
Scotland's funding gap is real and large
The SFHA's pre-election policy paper found that the average cost of building a social home had risen 30% in four years, from £150,293 in 2019 to £195,077 in 2023, with some specialist or rural homes costing up to £300,000. Their research concluded that meeting Scotland's housing need would require £8.2 billion in public investment — far exceeding current commitments.
The Scottish Government cut the Affordable Housing Supply Programme budget by £163 million — a 22% real-terms reduction — in 2024/25. This is in a context where Scotland is already estimated to be missing a quarter of a million homes: equivalent to a city the size of Edinburgh.
Data from housebuilders showed that around 5,000 new homes — including 1,826 designated as affordable — had stalled on sites across Scotland as a direct result of cuts to the Affordable Housing Supply Programme. Of those, 1,542 were in local authorities that had already declared housing emergencies, including Glasgow.
The amount by which the Scottish Government spent less in real terms on affordable and social housing in 2025–26 compared to the start of the parliamentary session — despite the ongoing housing emergency.
Private and social housing are interdependent
It is sometimes assumed that private and social housing compete — that every private home built is one fewer social home. The reality is more complex. Private developers contribute to affordable housing through planning conditions and developer contributions. Many affordable homes are delivered on mixed-tenure sites, where the cross-subsidy from private sales makes the social units financially viable.
When private development stalls — as it has in Scotland following planning uncertainty and funding cuts — affordable homes stall with it. Homes for Scotland's data shows that 22% of affordable homes that have stalled are on mixed-tenure sites.
Where we stand
Glasgow YIMBY wants a major expansion of social and genuinely affordable housing, funded by the Scottish Government at the scale the crisis demands. We also support private development, because the evidence shows it increases overall supply, contributes to affordable housing delivery, and helps moderate rents for everyone. These positions are not in conflict.
The real choice
The real choice is not between social housing and private housing. It is between building enough homes of all types, or building too few of any type. Scotland is currently doing the latter — and the people paying the price are those on waiting lists, those in temporary accommodation, and those spending unaffordable proportions of their income on rent.