Scotland is launching a new national housing agency to accelerate delivery, modernise processes, and unlock stalled housing development.
The Scottish Government has confirmed plans to establish a new executive agency, More Homes Scotland, designed to increase the speed, scale, and efficiency of housing delivery across the country. Announced by First Minister John Swinney, the agency responds to Scotland’s declared housing emergency and aims to provide a simplified, coordinated public sector delivery model for all housing tenures.
More Homes Scotland is expected to begin operating in 2027–28 and become fully functional in 2028–29, subject to the outcome of the Scottish Parliament election. The agency will operate nationally, working alongside local authorities, housing providers, and investors to address long-standing structural barriers to housing delivery.
Focus areas: Scale, infrastructure, and land
The remit of More Homes Scotland will focus on several priority areas critical to accelerating housing supply. These include delivering large-scale affordable housing projects, addressing rural and island housing needs, and acquiring, preparing, and releasing land for development. The agency will also support enabling infrastructure works to unlock stalled or constrained housing sites.
By centralising expertise around land assembly, infrastructure delivery, and programme management, the agency is intended to reduce duplication across public bodies and improve consistency in delivery. This approach aligns closely with digital construction priorities, including data-led land management, coordinated infrastructure planning, and standardised delivery frameworks.
Partnership with local authorities and investors
A formal co-design process will shape the agency’s functions and operating model. This process will be led by the Cabinet Secretary for Housing in partnership with local authorities and the Scottish National Investment Bank, with an update expected to be provided to the Scottish Parliament in March.
The First Minister emphasised that partnership working will be central to success. Speaking during a visit to a 90-home Wheatley Homes development in Wallyford, East Lothian, he outlined the scale of current investment and the need for reform.
“Since 2007, the Scottish Government has supported the delivery of 141,000 affordable homes in Scotland, including 101,000 for social rent,” he said. “However, Scotland is facing a housing emergency. We recognise the difficulty that many Scots, in particular young Scots, have finding a home they can afford to rent or buy.”
Record investment and a modern delivery model
The 2026–27 draft Scottish Budget includes the largest funding allocation to affordable housing since records began in 1989. The government has committed up to £4.9 billion over four years, backed by £4.1 billion of public investment, to deliver 36,000 affordable homes and support housing for around 24,000 children.
John Swinney noted that while funding and policy measures have strengthened investor confidence, delivery models must evolve. “We must have a public sector delivery model that can rise to our enhanced ambitions,” he said. “A new national agency will mean less duplication, greater expertise, increased efficiencies, and making our substantial investment go further.”
Enabling private finance and digital construction outcomes
More Homes Scotland will work closely with the Scottish National Investment Bank to attract and deploy private finance at scale. The Bank’s Chief Executive, David Ritchie, welcomed the announcement.
“The Bank has invested more than £130 million in housing to date, with a robust pipeline of more potential housing investments,” he said. “Working with private investors and homebuilders we have developed innovative approaches to unlock finance, getting much-needed homes built across Scotland.”
This mission-led investment approach supports long-term societal and economic growth and aligns with digital construction strategies focused on productivity, programme certainty, and whole-life value.
More Homes Scotland represents a strategic shift towards modern, digitally enabled housing delivery, combining public leadership, private investment, and coordinated infrastructure to address Scotland’s housing needs sustainably.
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