The Story So Far: Housing Associations and the Scottish Economy

Our latest research with Professor Duncan Maclennan and Dr Andrew Robert Watson commissioned by the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations reveals housing associations are much more than providers of social housing.

They are major employers, investors, purchasers, developers and community anchors, generating economic activity well beyond their core housing role.

Using new evidence and analysis, this report argues that their full economic contribution is not yet properly understood or measured. As a result, housing investment is often viewed as a cost rather than as an investment capable of generating wider economic, social and public-sector returns.

Housing associations support employment, construction, local businesses, skills, regeneration and household incomes through their direct spending, supply chains and wider economic activity.

Their not-for-profit status makes this particularly significant. Rather than distributing profits to shareholders, surpluses are retained and reinvested in homes, services and communities. Where associations employ locally and procure from local businesses, expenditure can circulate within local economies, supporting jobs, businesses and further investment.

Housing also affects productivity. Affordable, secure and suitable homes can support labour mobility, help employers recruit and retain workers and enable people to participate in employment. Poor housing can create costs through ill health, homelessness, financial insecurity and pressure on public services.

The report identifies ten interconnected domains through which housing associations contribute, or have the potential to contribute, to Scotland’s economy calls for better measurement and economic modelling, including the local economic multiplier and the public costs that good housing can prevent.

The message is clear: housing associations are already creating significant economic value. Scotland needs to measure it, understand it and make investment decisions based on the full return.