October 07, 2024

Houses for £1! Could Labour Solve Scotland’s Housing Crisis? with MSP Mark Griffin

56 minutes

In this episode of the Scottish Property Podcast, we sit down with Labour MSP Mark Griffin, Shadow Minister for Housing and Local Government, to discuss Scotland's ongoing housing crisis.

Mark dives into the key issues plaguing the sector, including the shortage of affordable homes, the growing number of children in temporary accommodation, and the challenges facing the housing market after the 2008 financial crash. He shares his views on how to accelerate housebuilding, tackle land banking, and improve the planning system to meet Scotland's growing housing demands.

Episode Highlights:

Scotland's Housing Crisis:

Over 10,000 children are currently living in temporary accommodation, a figure Mark calls "absolutely appalling."

The root cause of the housing emergency is a 20-year shortfall in housing completions, with the market never fully recovering after the 2008 financial crisis.

Need for More Homes:

Mark stresses that the solution to the crisis is straightforward: build more homes across all tenures (private, social, and affordable).

He highlights that Scotland needs approximately 700,000 new homes to meet current demand, according to research by Homes for Scotland.

Affordable Housing and Government Investment:

While the Scottish Government has built more social housing than the rest of the UK, Mark argues that it's not enough. He believes that more investment is needed across all housing sectors to address the broader crisis.

He criticizes recent cuts to the affordable housing supply budget, which have prevented social landlords from fulfilling their affordable housing commitments.

Planning System and Land Availability:

Mark advocates for an overhaul of Scotland's planning system, which he says is under-resourced and bogged down in bureaucracy. He suggests increasing the scope of permitted development to speed up the process.

He also discusses the issue of land banking by developers, calling for reforms to ensure more land is released for housing.

Incentives for Renovating Empty Homes:

Mark introduces the idea of a "£1 home" scheme, where first-time buyers can purchase an empty property for £1, provided they commit to renovating it. He also proposes loan financing to support renovations.

Short-Term Lets Legislation:

Mark discusses the controversial short-term lets legislation, which he feels is a "blanket approach" affecting areas that don’t need it. He believes the focus should be on localised issues, rather than imposing regulations across all of Scotland.

Tune in to hear Mark Griffin's take on how Scotland can overcome its housing crisis, the future of government policy, and what changes we need to see in the planning and rental sectors.

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By Nick Ponty and Steven Clark

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