Nine Recommendations Proposed to Achieve Shared Understanding of Housing Affordability in Scotland

A new report from the Scottish Government’s Short Life Working Group (SLWG) has outlined nine key recommendations to establish a shared understanding of housing affordability across Scotland. Chaired by Professor Kenneth Gibb of the UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence (CaCHE), the report highlights the urgent need for a single, evidence-based definition of housing affordability to guide policy and delivery under the Housing to 2040 strategy.

The report underscores that, with multiple definitions currently in use, disagreement on what constitutes affordability has hindered policy coherence and delivery. To address this, the SLWG recommends that affordability for renter households should include three core components, to be fully met by 2040:

• Rent and service charges should not exceed 30% of net household income.
• Minimum residual income should meet 100% of the After Housing Costs Minimum Income Standard, as defined by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
• Progress should be made in reducing households falling below the UK after-housing-costs relative poverty threshold.

The report stresses that affordability cannot be considered in isolation from broader economic factors, including income levels, jobs, productivity, benefits, and equalities policies.

SLWG Recommendations for a Shared Housing Affordability Definition

1. Integrate the new definition into the National Performance Framework to strengthen Scotland’s commitment to child poverty reduction and the human right to adequate housing.
2. Ensure the definition covers social, affordable, and private rental sectors, while continuing to support access to homeownership.
3. Focus on rent and service charges rather than housing condition standards, which are addressed through complementary policies.
4. Use a narrow cost measure of rent plus service charges for simplicity and consistency.
5. Implement regular monitoring and periodic review to adapt indicators based on evolving evidence.
6. Clarify social rent levels and scrutinize mid-market rent affordability to maintain alignment with policy benchmarks.
7. Apply affordability thresholds nationally and disaggregated for different household types, including single adults, families, retirees, and minority groups.
8. Conduct economic and equality impact assessments and collect data to monitor the progressive transition toward the new measure.
9. Treat the shared understanding as a long-term target of Housing to 2040, influencing policy decisions immediately and progressively realizing affordability goals by 2040.

Professor Kenneth Gibb, chair of the SLWG, said:

“Affordability is fundamentally normative and subjective. Our recommendations combine evidence and research to build consensus on a multi-part definition. It is now for the Scottish Government to act on these recommendations.”

Shelter Scotland welcomed the report and urged immediate implementation. Director Alison Watson said:

“Housing in Scotland is not affordable for most people. Median earners may spend 60% of take-home pay on rent or 50% on a mortgage. Building more social homes is the single most effective way to address the housing crisis.”

The SLWG report provides a comprehensive roadmap for Scottish policymakers to tackle housing affordability, ensure fairness in the rental sector, and deliver sustainable solutions under the Housing to 2040 strategy.