The Scottish Government has signalled its commitment to boosting housing supply and investor confidence with the endorsement of a wide-ranging set of recommendations from the independent Housing Investment Taskforce.
The move comes as the Housing Bill — and its proposed 447 amendments — nears a critical juncture at Holyrood, with industry stakeholders warning of a dwindling pipeline of new build-to-rent homes due to prolonged policy uncertainty.
The Taskforce’s final report, published this week, calls for bold reforms to unlock investment across social, affordable, and private housing tenures. Recommendations include attracting private capital into affordable housing, encouraging shared ownership models, and fostering a more entrepreneurial approach among public sector bodies.
Housing Minister Paul McLennan welcomed the report and said: “It is my ambition, shared by the members of the Housing Investment Taskforce, to make Scotland the best place for housing investment. The report has identified a range of actions to support more investment across all tenures of the housing system to meet Scotland’s growth potential.”
He confirmed the Government will incorporate the Taskforce’s proposals into its Programme for Government and work alongside key stakeholders “to grow investor confidence to support the delivery of more homes across Scotland”.
The intervention comes as data from the Scottish Property Federation and Savills reveals a 26% year-on-year drop in the number of BTR homes under construction — from 2,545 in Q1 2024 to just 1,896 this year.
Investor anxiety has been compounded by the Government’s ongoing rent control proposals under the Housing Bill, including plans to cap in-tenancy rent rises at CPI +1% (up to 6%) and to regulate rents between tenancies.
While this inflation-linked model is viewed by some as a step toward greater predictability, critics warn that further regulation — particularly on student lets and between-tenancy controls — risks further stagnating the market. The SPF estimates £3bn in potential BTR investment remains stalled due to policy uncertainty.
Moda Group’s planning director, James Blakey, who participated in the Taskforce, stressed the urgency of coordinated action.
He said: “Addressing the housing emergency needs bold, imaginative and concrete actions. Working in partnership to create market certainty and viability is key to attracting crucial investment into Scotland so we can build the new homes people want and need.”
The Taskforce’s report acknowledges the scale of the challenge. It urges government to commit to long-term funding for affordable housing supply, review financing mechanisms to attract institutional investment, and reconsider the rigidity of current subsidy structures. It also calls for greater transparency and consistency across local authorities and Registered Social Landlords to enable more efficient capital deployment.
Karen Campbell, communications director at Springfield, said: “The Taskforce’s report is clear on the value in building confidence, supporting new partnerships and creating the economic opportunity to unlock new and existing investment in Scotland.”
Critically, the report echoes industry concerns about investor fatigue and recommends measures that could help bridge the gap — including using local government pension funds, enabling new market entrants, and simplifying the regulatory environment around mid-market rents and RSL involvement.
As the Housing Bill moves through Stage 2 in committee, the Scottish Government now faces a balancing act between tenant protection and market viability.
The Scottish Property Federation’s David Melhuish has called for swift legislative clarity, and said: “Unless the Scottish Government moves to restore investor confidence through supporting new build and amending some of its more controversial policies such as between-tenancy rent controls, then we will soon exhaust the new supply pipeline of BTR homes.”
With both the legislative process and housing delivery challenges converging, the coming weeks may prove decisive in determining whether Scotland’s ambition to be a leading destination for housing investment can be realised.
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