A pledge to deliver 80,000 new affordable homes by 2031 is the centrepiece of a package of measures unveiled by the Scottish Conservatives today to tackle the SNP’s housing emergency.
With housebuilding in Scotland at its lowest level in years and thousands of families stuck on waiting lists, the party says urgent action is needed to boost supply and ensure more Scots can access secure, affordable housing.
The Scottish Conservatives’ commitment reflects independent research showing Scotland requires around 78,000 affordable homes over the course of the next Parliament – and is achievable by cutting excessive SNP red tape and accelerating development.
Other key policies in the policy paper, entitled ‘Ending Scotland’s Housing Crisis’, include:
- Piloting street votes in Scotland, giving local communities a direct say in supporting new housing in their area, with a view to expanding the scheme nationwide if successful.
- Scrapping the SNP’s failed national planning framework, allowing councils to set their own local planning strategies and targets to build the homes their communities need.
- Reinstating the local connection rule, ensuring homelessness services prioritise those with genuine ties to the area and easing unsustainable pressure on councils.
- Ending the use of migrant hotels and returning these buildings to their original purpose, reducing pressure on local housing and supporting tourism and local economies.
- Scrapping the SNP’s ban on boilers in new-build homes, which would impose penalties of up to £15,000 on home or building owners who do not comply.
Scottish Conservative shadow housing secretary Meghan Gallacher said: “After 19 years of SNP failure, Scotland is in a housing emergency.
“Housebuilding has stalled due to their budget cuts, rent controls and open-door immigration policies. As a result, homelessness is rising and vulnerable families are being left in the lurch.
“Urgent action is needed to address this crisis – and that’s what our paper proposes.
“We are setting a clear and deliverable target of building 80,000 affordable homes by 2031, matching what the experts say Scotland needs.
“To make that happen, we will take a common-sense approach – scrapping red tape and the SNP’s failed planning framework, and empowering councils to build the homes their areas actually require.
“But we must also restore safeguards in the homelessness system by reversing the SNP’s reckless decision to scrap the local connection rule, which has made Glasgow a magnet for asylum seekers.
“We will end the use of migrant hotels, returning these buildings to their original purpose.
“The Scottish Conservatives will focus on practical solutions that put vulnerable Scots first, boost supply and fix the damage caused by SNP housing policies.”
Notes to editors
A copy of the paper is attached.
In 2024-25, just 19,177 homes were completed, the lowest level since 2020-21, when the pandemic limited the construction sector’s ability to build houses. Excluding Covid, this is the lowest level for completions since 2017-18, when 17,564 homes were completed. (Housing Statistics for Scotland Quarterly Update, 16 December 2025, link).
We would build 80,000 affordable homes by 2031. According to a report from by Shelter Scotland, the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) and the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) Scotland, Scotland needs a minimum of 15,693 affordable homes a year in the next Parliament - a total of 78,465 over five-years. With the removal of excessive SNP red tape, it should be more than possible to achieve this target. That is why we would set a target for 80,000 affordable homes to be built between now and 2031. (Shelter Scotland, 23 September 2025, link).
In England, the 2023 Levelling-up and Regeneration Act introduced “street votes”. Street votes allow the residents of a street to give themselves the right to extend or redevelop their properties. Homeowners can work with their neighbours to introduce a street plan, which would then be voted on by the street. If 60% approve, then the plan is adopted and everyone on the street now has planning permission to develop in line with the plan. These plans have been scrapped by the UK Labour Government. (Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023, Accessed 10 February 2026, link; Street Votes, Accessed 4 November 2025, link; Written Question, 8 July 2025, link).
One of the biggest barriers to housebuilding is the Fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4). NPF4 sets out where and when developments and infrastructure can be built, with a number of policies for local authorities and developers to consider. (NPF4, 13 February 2023, link).
For example, NPF4 prevented 250 homes from being built in West Lothian. Policy 16f of NPF4 states that “Development proposals for new homes on land not allocated for housing in the LDP [Local Development Plan] will only be supported in limited circumstances”. In May 2024, the Court of Session sided with a Scottish Government decision to deny permission for 250 homes to be built in West Lothian, on the basis that the development did not comply with policy 16f. NPF4, 13 February 2023, link; Lichfields, 19 June 2024, link).
Councils already have to set their own local development plans. By abolishing NPF4, councils would be able to set their own LDPs without having to follow the onerous restrictions set out in NPF4. (Scottish Government, Accessed 10 February 2026, link).
The SNP Government are planning on fining households £15,000 if they don’t replace their boilers. The draft Buildings and Heat Networks Bill contains plans that would impose penalties of up to £15,000 on home or building owners who do not comply with new laws, such as replacing ageing gas or oil boilers in their properties. (Scottish Daily Express, 21 November 2025, link).