Highland reports achieving priorities on Local Housing Strategy

The Housing and Property Committee met today (Wednesday 1 May 2024) and noted the Housing Service performance report 2023/24 that met the agreed priorities and associated initiatives in the Local Housing Strategy 2023-2028.

The report highlighted a number of achievements in 2023/24 in increasing housing supply. As part of the approved Affordable Housing Programme 2023/24, 418 houses are currently built or nearing completion, 163 are new build Council houses, 226 are for social rent delivered via our partners and 29 open market purchases which brought houses into Council ownership.

The report also confirmed efforts to keep Council house rents affordable, as well as detailing various initiatives to support tenants in sustaining their tenancies and mitigating the impact of the cost-of-living crisis.

It also detailed a number of housing and homelessness service indicators where Highland is performing better than national benchmarking comparators. It also summarises the ongoing engagement work with the Scottish Housing Regulator who provide an independent regulatory role for social housing in Scotland.

Housing and Property Committee Chair, Cllr Glynis Campbell Sinclair said: “The key objective of the Council’s Local Housing Strategy (2023-2028) is that everyone in Highland has access to a quality home which is affordable and supports the local economy in a sustainable, connected community where people wish to live, work and study.

“The housing service performance report highlights significant developments in how Highland is increasing housing supply, providing a range of housing options for households seeking safe and secure accommodation, and demonstrates how it is helping our tenants sustain their tenancies despite the cost-of-living crisis.

“The report also provides information on initiatives to ensure that Highland is providing positive and secure housing outcomes for our tenants and service users, many of whom constitute the most vulnerable client groups in our communities and for whom a stable home environment is essential to their wellbeing and quality of life.

“Demand to live, work and thrive in the Highlands is high, and we must continue to work collaboratively with the Scottish Government and our housing partners to do all we can to improve the availability of affordable, accessible housing across the Highlands.”

The full report can be found here (Item 7)