From devolution to today’s housing challenge
With polling day now less than a week away we thought that it might be worthwhile and of interest (and hopefully some use too!) to take a look at the policies of the main parties as relate to the housing sector.
Since the establishment of the Scottish Parliament in 1999, housing policy in Scotland has evolved through multiple administrations, with the Scottish National Party (SNP) in government continuously since 2007. Successive governments regardless of their political colours have sought to balance three core objectives: increasing housing supply, supporting home ownership, and ensuring affordability in both the owned and rented sectors.
And now as Scotland approaches the May 2026 Holyrood election, housing remains a central issue. All major parties agree that supply has not kept pace with need, but they differ in how far structural reform—particularly in home purchase pathways and the role of the state—should go.
This article focuses primarily on housebuilding and home ownership policy, while also assessing the more contested question of rent controls.
Part I: Housing Supply and Home Ownership (Primary Focus)
The SNP record since 2007: Delivery, ambition, and criticism
Given the SNP’s time in government it provides us with a pretty substantial record against which its current proposals can be judged.
Achievements and policy direction
Since taking office in 2007, SNP-led governments have:
- Delivered thousands of homes, including a significant proportion which are classified as affordable or social housing.
- Introduced schemes such as Help to Buy (Scotland) and shared equity programmes although no such schemes are currently in place.
- Abolished the Right to Buy in 2016, aiming to preserve social housing stock.
These policies reflect a long-standing SNP emphasis on trying to support first-time buyers, expanding affordable housing supply, and maintaining a mixed housing system.
Criticisms and ongoing challenges
Opposition parties and sector bodies have repeatedly raised concerns about missed or revised housing targets in recent years, a slowdown in new build rates, particularly in the private sector, and planning system delays and capacity constraints. Opposition parties claim that well-intentioned policies are one thing, but that delivery is quite another and that when it comes to delivery the SNP have failed the country.
There is also debate about whether policy interventions, particularly in the rental sector, have indirectly affected supply. It is statistically accurate to say that rent controls introduced by the SNP and Greens when in government together did drive many landlords from the sector thus reducing supply which due to increasing demand saw private rentals soar when properties not subject to rent control came to market.
Current direction
In the 2026 campaign, the SNP has signalled a renewed focus on accelerating building through a proposed national housing agency and supporting tenant-to-owner transitions, including controversial “first refusal” rights when rented homes are sold.
This suggests an attempt to bridge renting and ownership more directly than in previous policy cycles.
Scottish Labour: Large-scale building as the central lever
The Scottish Labour Party places housing supply at the centre of its programme, arguing that affordability problems stem primarily from insufficient construction over time.
Core proposals
Labour’s housing platform emphasises a major expansion in housebuilding, often framed in terms of tens of thousands of new homes, a strong role for publicly funded and social housing, and measures to support first-time buyers, particularly those priced out of the market.
System reform
Labour has also pointed to planning reform to accelerate development, partnerships with local authorities and housing associations, and greater long-term certainty for builders and investors.
Positioning relative to SNP record
Labour’s critique is that, despite long-term SNP governance, housing delivery has been inconsistent and structural barriers such as “land banking”, overly complex planning regulations and a neglected infrastructure have not been fully addressed.
Overall emphasis
Labour’s model is supply-led and state-supported, focused on scaling up delivery rather than reshaping tenure models.
Scottish Conservatives: Ownership, incentives, and market expansion
The Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party adopt a more market-oriented perspective, with a strong emphasis on home ownership as the primary goal.
Key proposals
The Conservatives advocate policies to increase private housebuilding, including planning reform, incentives for developers and investors, and support for aspiring homeowners through financial and tax-related measures.
Planning and land use
A major focus is streamlining planning processes, releasing land for development, and reducing regulatory barriers.
Critique of current system
The party argues that excessive regulation has constrained supply and that government intervention has discouraged private sector participation.
Overall emphasis
Their approach is ownership-first and market-led, based on the premise that increased supply through private development and lower personal taxes will improve affordability.
Scottish Greens: Public housing and structural change
The Scottish Green Party takes a more interventionist approach, but its housing policy is not limited to rent controls.
Supply-side priorities
The Greens propose a significant expansion of public and social housing, greater direct involvement of the state in building homes, and a shift away from reliance on private developers.
Ownership model
The party places less emphasis on expanding traditional home ownership and more on long-term secure tenancies, as well as community and cooperative housing models.
Structural framing
Housing is treated as a public good, similar to healthcare or education, and as an area where market outcomes alone are insufficient. There is a strong presumption against second and multiple home ownership with taxation used to discourage this.
Overall emphasis
The Greens’ approach is state-led and redistributive, focused on access and security rather than ownership expansion.
Scottish Liberal Democrats: Local delivery and pragmatic reform
The Scottish Liberal Democrats seek to find a middle road and position themselves between the larger parties, emphasising practical delivery mechanisms.
Key proposals
Their housing approach includes increasing affordable housing supply, particularly in high-demand areas, empowering local authorities to respond to housing shortages, and linking housing development to infrastructure investment.
Ownership and access
The party supports first-time buyer access and mixed tenure developments.
Overall emphasis
Their model is balanced and locally focused, combining elements of market delivery and public intervention.
Part II: Rent Controls and Rental Policy (Secondary Focus)
SNP: Managed rent control within a broader system
The SNP supports targeted rent controls, implemented through designated rent control areas and caps on increases tied to local conditions.
This reflects a view that rent regulation can provide stability without fully replacing market mechanisms.
Labour: Limited emphasis on rent control
Scottish Labour has not made rent control a central campaign issue and has focused instead on reducing rent pressure through increased supply.
Its position suggests openness to intervention where necessary, but a belief that long-term affordability depends on building more homes.
Conservatives: Opposition to rent controls
The Conservatives remain firmly opposed, arguing that rent controls discourage investment, reduce rental supply, and risk unintended consequences for tenants.
Greens: Strong advocacy for rent caps
The Greens continue to support robust rent controls and caps, alongside expanded tenant protections.
For the Greens, rent regulation is a core tool of housing policy, not a secondary measure.
Liberal Democrats: Targeted and cautious approach
The Liberal Democrats favour selective, evidence-based interventions and avoiding overly rigid rent caps.
Their stance reflects concern about balancing tenant protection with maintaining supply.
Continuity, divergence, and the question of scale
The 2026 Scottish Parliament election highlights both continuity and divergence in housing policy.
All major parties agree that Scotland needs more homes, that affordability must improve, and that government has a role to play but that is just about all they agree upon.
The main differences lie in the scale of state intervention, the priority given to ownership versus rental stability, and the use of rent controls as a policy tool.
After nearly two decades in government, the SNP’s record is central to the debate. It can point to some delivery successes and sustained policy focus but faces stern criticism over multiple missed and downgraded targets, the flagging pace of delivery and a failure to address structural constraints.
As voters we are effectively choosing between expanding and refining the current mixed model associated with the SNP, a large-scale supply push from Labour with the potential upside of growth, greater employment and the resultant tax receipts, a market-driven ownership model from the Conservatives, a heavily regulated state-led and rights-based system from the Greens, or a balanced and localised approach from the Liberal Democrats.
While rent control remains a prominent and sometimes polarising issue, the dominant theme of this election is housing supply and access to ownership, and how quickly meaningful change can be delivered within Scotland’s existing institutional and economic constraints.
Whatever choice Scotland makes next week, the consequences will without doubt be impactful. Regardless of the outcome the one thing we do know is that we will always be here to advise and guide our clients through whatever landscape we choose.