What do Scotland’s latest housing figures mean for tenants?
The Scottish Housing Regulator has published its latest national report on how councils and housing associations performed during 2025/26.
Overall, the results are positive. Most tenants remain satisfied with their landlord, repairs are being completed more quickly and more homes meet the Scottish Housing Quality Standard.
However, the figures do not tell the whole story.
When we compare them with what tenants told the Regulator’s National Panel of Tenants and Service Users, we see a more complicated picture. Many tenants are worried about rent, heating costs and their household finances. Some also question whether taking part in consultation makes a real difference.
We believe both sets of information matter. The national figures tell us how landlords say they are performing. Tenants’ experiences help us understand what that performance feels like in real life.
Most tenants are satisfied
The National Charter Report shows that:
- 88% of tenants were satisfied with their landlord overall.
- 87% were satisfied with the quality of their home.
- 88% were satisfied with the repairs service.
- 82% felt their rent was good value for money.
- 88% were satisfied with opportunities to take part in decisions.
- 91% felt their landlord kept them informed.
- 85% were satisfied with how their landlord managed their neighbourhood.
Most of these results either improved or stayed at a similar level to the previous year.
There were some differences between councils and housing associations. Overall satisfaction was 82% among council tenants and 89% among housing association tenants.
National averages can also hide big differences between individual landlords and communities. That is why tenants should be able to see their own landlord’s results, how these compare with previous years and what the landlord plans to improve.
Rents are rising while tenants remain worried
The average weekly social rent increased by 5.6% to £103.10.
Average council rent was £94.79 per week, compared with £111.80 for housing associations.
Despite this increase, 82% of tenants said their rent represented good value for money. This result has stayed at the same level for four years.
But the National Panel found that:
- 48% of respondents had experienced difficulty affording their rent.
- 31% had struggled with rent during the previous year.
- 72% were worried about being able to afford their rent over the next few years.
- 56% were specifically concerned about future rent increases.
- 80% said an unexpected household expense would cause difficulty or stress.
- 35% often had to delay or miss paying a bill.
These findings are not necessarily contradictory.
A tenant might believe that social housing offers better value than private renting while still finding their rent difficult to afford. They may also appreciate their landlord’s services but be worried about how they will manage another increase.
This is why landlords should not look at the 82% value-for-money result and assume that tenants are comfortable with rent levels.
What does value for money mean to tenants?
The National Panel asked tenants what they think about when deciding whether their rent is good value.
Their answers were practical. Tenants thought about:
- Whether repairs are completed properly.
- How quickly the landlord responds.
- The condition of their home.
- Whether their home is warm and energy efficient.
- Improvements to kitchens, bathrooms and heating systems.
- How the neighbourhood is looked after.
- How antisocial behaviour is dealt with.
- Whether complaints are taken seriously.
- Whether staff treat tenants with respect.
- Whether the landlord listens and acts on tenants’ views.
This is important because landlords sometimes explain value for money through budgets, costs and efficiency savings. Tenants are more likely to judge it by what they can see and experience.
Landlords need to clearly show how rent is being used and what difference it makes to homes, services and communities.
Repairs and housing quality have improved
The national repairs results were encouraging:
- Satisfaction with repairs increased to 88%.
- Emergency repairs were completed in an average of 3.3 hours.
- Non-emergency repairs took an average of 8.4 working days.
- 95% of reactive repairs were recorded as being completed correctly the first time.
The number of homes meeting the Scottish Housing Quality Standard also increased from 87% to 90%.
However, 6.5% of homes still failed the standard. There were also serious safety issues:
- 28,528 electrical inspections were not completed within the required five-year period.
- 2,450 homes did not have the required smoke and heat detectors at the end of March 2026.
- The Regulator is working with 11 landlords about electrical and fire-safety concerns.
The overall national results may be strong, but these safety figures show why tenants must still be able to ask questions and hold their landlord to account.
Being asked is not the same as having influence
The Charter Report shows that 88% of tenants were satisfied with opportunities to participate in their landlord’s decisions. A further 91% were satisfied with how their landlord kept them informed.
These are positive results. But there is a difference between being given information, being asked for a view and having real influence.
This came through clearly in the National Panel’s findings about rent consultation. Most respondents said their landlord clearly explained the proposed rent increase and asked for their views.
However, some tenants felt that their response made little or no difference to the final decision. Some also felt that the information was limited or that the landlord had not offered a meaningful choice.
Tenants were more positive when landlords:
- Explained why an increase was needed.
- Offered more than one option.
- Showed what each option would mean for services.
- Provided different ways to respond.
- Reported back on what tenants said.
- Explained how the feedback affected the final decision.
Good tenant participation is not simply about holding a meeting or sending out a survey. Tenants should be told what they can influence, what they cannot change and why.
Most importantly, they should be able to see what happened because they took part.
Homes are being let faster, but fewer are available
The average time taken to re-let an empty home improved from 61 to 52 days.
Housing associations took an average of 34 days, while councils took 68 days.
But landlords made fewer lets overall:
- The number of homes let fell by 9%, from 50,363 to 45,924.
- Fewer homes became vacant during the year.
- At the end of March 2026, 13,294 social homes were empty.
- Of these, 5,136 had been empty for more than six months.
Landlords are getting empty homes ready more quickly, but fewer homes are becoming available in the first place.
This is particularly important during Scotland’s housing emergency.
Homeless households are receiving a larger share of fewer lets
During 2025/26, social landlords let 20,979 homes to households assessed as homeless. This was 8% fewer than the year before.
However, homeless households received 46% of all available lets, up from 45%.
This means landlords are giving a growing share of their available homes to people experiencing homelessness. But because the total number of lets has fallen, fewer homeless households received a home overall.
Tenancy sustainment among previously homeless households increased to 92%, which is encouraging. It suggests that support and more person-centred services are helping people to keep their homes.
The wider problem remains the shortage of homes. Changing how a limited number of properties are allocated cannot solve that shortage on its own.
What should happen next?
The report shows that landlords are delivering many services well during a difficult period. The improvements in repairs, housing quality, communication and tenancy sustainment should be recognized, but landlords should also use these results to start honest conversations with tenants.
We believe landlords should:
- Explain their performance in plain language.
- Show how their results compare with previous years and similar landlords.
- Discuss the figures with tenants rather than simply publishing them.
- Ask tenants whether the figures match their experiences.
- Explain what they are doing about weaker areas.
- Be open about financial pressures and difficult choices.
- Show what has changed because tenants became involved.
- Pay attention to groups whose experiences may be hidden by national averages.
The National Charter Report tells us that most tenants are satisfied and that performance has improved in several important areas.
The National Panel findings remind us that many tenants are still living with financial pressure and uncertainty. They also show that being satisfied with a service does not mean there is nothing left to improve.
The clearest picture comes from bringing the two reports together.
The figures tell us what is happening across the sector. Tenants help us understand why it is happening, how it affects people and what landlords need to do next.