The Scottish Housing Regulator today published its National Report on the Scottish Social Housing Charter 2024/25. It shows that landlords performed well against the Charter, despite the ongoing challenges facing them and their tenants and service users.
Amid a national housing emergency declared by the Scottish Government in May last year, social landlords collectively allocated nearly half of all lets in 2024/25 to people experiencing homelessness—the highest proportion since the Charter was introduced. Some landlords have focused on reducing the number of long-term empty homes to tackle the emergency, which contributed to an increase in the average time taken to re-let properties.
Today’s report also shows that:
- tenant satisfaction remains high, and while satisfaction levels among Gypsy/Travellers has increased, levels among factored owners are at their lowest since the introduction of the Charter for the second consecutive year;
- more homes meet the Scottish Housing Quality Standard than last year; and
- rent arrears have continued to fall.
The Regulator also published a suite of performance information alongside the National Report including individual landlord reports, an online interactive comparison tool, and all the statistical information landlords provided under the Charter.
Garry Coutts, chair of the Scottish Housing Regulator said “We know that 2024/25 was another difficult year for social landlords, their tenants and other service users. Economic uncertainty and volatility over the last few years has meant many tenants have faced financial hardship and has increased pressure on social landlords.
“Today’s report shows that, despite this difficult environment, landlords have maintained or improved performance against most of the Charter outcomes and standards. This includes areas that matter most to tenants, such as housing quality levels increasing, tenant satisfaction improving, and landlords achieving quicker response times for emergency repairs.
“Challenges remain, particularly the pressure on local authorities’ homelessness services. Systemic failure, that the Regulator identified last year, continues to impact the delivery of these services in some areas, with others at heightened risk of being impacted. We will continue to engage with every local authority and other stakeholders who have an interest in and responsibility to tackle the growing problem of homelessness.”
Notes to editors
- The Scottish Housing Regulator was established on 1 April 2011 under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2010. Its objective is to safeguard and promote the interests of tenants and others who use local authority and RSL housing services. The Regulator operates independently of Scottish Ministers and is accountable directly to the Scottish Parliament. It assumed its full regulatory responsibilities on 1 April 2012. The Regulator consists of the Chair and seven Board members. More information about the Regulator can be found on its website at housingregulator.gov.scot
- SHR’s current approach to how it regulates social landlords is set out in its current Regulatory framework – Regulation of Social Housing in Scotland.