By Gary Hartin, Programme Manager for Backing Community-Led Housing
For more than a decade, we’ve been working alongside communities across Scotland who are determined to shape their own housing future. In partnership with South of Scotland Community Housing and Communities Housing Trust, we’ve helped grow the profile of community-led housing and build political recognition for what it can achieve. Our long‑term goal has always been simple: secure sustainable funding so communities can keep delivering the homes Scotland urgently needs.
To help make that a reality, we funded the creation of the Community-Led Housing Alliance, a national effort to secure long-term political commitment ahead of the 2026 Scottish Parliament election. The Alliance is co‑ordinated by South of Scotland Community Housing and Communities Housing Trust and works closely with Community Land Scotland and Development Trusts Association Scotland, backed by South of Scotland Enterprise and Highlands & Islands Enterprise.
Formed in summer 2025, the Alliance now represents around 70 local organisations including development trusts, social enterprises, community councils, and local charities, all united behind a shared ambition.
In February 2026 the Alliance launched its first manifesto, Back Scotland’s Communities to Provide More Homes, setting out three clear priorities for the next parliamentary term:
- Transform Scottish Government grant funding
Reconfigure the Rural & Islands Housing Funds into a single national Community-Led Housing Fund with a £55m budget. - Provide patient, low‑cost finance
Work with the Scottish National Investment Bank to create a dedicated fund that supports long‑term community-led housing projects. - Sustain enabling services
Ensure Scotland’s nonprofit community housing enablers are funded throughout the next Parliament.
Why community-led housing deserves national backing
Scotland continues to face a housing emergency, and communities are stepping up where traditional routes haven’t kept pace. The message at the heart of the manifesto is clear: to meet Scotland’s housing needs fairly and effectively, government and political parties must back community-led housing.
Across the country, local organisations are creating affordable homes that respond directly to local needs. They are also supporting community wealth-building, improving wellbeing, and taking local action on the climate emergency. This combination of housing delivery and wider community impact is what makes community-led housing so distinctive, and so powerful.
As part of its work, the Alliance carried out Scotland’s first census of community housing providers. The findings show a sector that is active, ambitious, and ready to scale.
- There are at least 175 community housing providers, operating across 20 local authority areas.
- The sector has already delivered over 600 homes.
- Delivery is accelerating:
- 61 homes were completed between 2016–20
- 200+ homes were completed between 2021–25, a 250% increase.
- The pipeline is even stronger: almost 1,700 homes are in development, with around 900 already beyond feasibility.
If just these post‑feasibility projects are delivered in the next five years, this would represent a 314% increase in community‑led homes.
Community-led housing is now Scotland’s fastest‑growing housing sector and it’s on the brink of a step‑change in scale.
The Alliance aims to build awareness, strengthen the sector’s collective voice, and secure the sustained funding and cross‑party support that community-led housing needs to thrive.
This manifesto gives the sector a shared vision and a powerful evidence base, showing not only what community-led housing has achieved so far, but what it could deliver in the next Parliament with the right backing.
Ultimately, there is a need for more people, more organisations, and more political leaders to recognise the value of community-led housing and to champion its role in helping Scotland meet the housing needs of those who need it most.