Good housing key to thriving rural communities, SLE says

Press Release

Rural business organisation Scottish Land & Estates (SLE) says good quality housing in rural Scotland is essential economic infrastructure.

The theme of this year’s Scottish Housing Day on 16 September, organised by the Chartered Institute of Housing, the Scottish government and partners, is ‘healthy homes, healthy futures’. SLE believes that access to good quality housing is particularly important in rural areas.

Anna Gardiner, senior policy adviser (business and property) for SLE, said: "Rural housing is about far more than the number of homes delivered. Every new home can help a local business recruit staff, enable a family to remain in the area, support vital services and strengthen the future of a community. As we mark Scottish Housing Day, there is an opportunity to look beyond traditional measures of success and recognise housing as essential economic infrastructure, underpinning thriving rural economies and resilient communities across Scotland.”

Creating housing in rural Scotland is often more expensive and less commercially viable than in urban areas due to smaller scale developments, higher infrastructure costs and typically lower market values. 

SLE points out that rural estates continue to invest in housing, generating multiple benefits for the local area. Every additional home helps businesses to recruit staff, keeps families in the local area, maintains the school roll, supports public services and results in more sustainable communities.  

Anna Gardiner continued: “New homes support jobs and help build a stronger rural economy.  Many rural homes will never generate the financial returns expected of a purely commercial development.  However, a narrow economic assessment misses the wider value of housing to rural communities, their local economies and public services. 

“We have worked closely with the Scottish government to ensure that legislation is subject to a meaningful Rural Impact Assessment. The same principle should apply to housing investment decisions. Alongside delivery targets, government should assess how housing contributes to workforce mobility, demographic sustainability, business growth and community resilience in rural Scotland.”

The Scottish government has recognised that rural households face higher costs when moving to clean heating systems, but that recognition stops at the door of the private rented sector. The rural uplift available to owner-occupiers is not available to those offering rental housing, despite the fact that rural landlords provide a significant proportion of the rented housing stock that many communities rely upon. Enabling existing homes to remain warm, occupied and maintained should be viewed as an investment in rural communities, not simply a cost, according to SLE.

Scottish estates provide homes for nearly 13,000 families, according to the 2023 report The Contribution of Rural Estates to Scotland’s Wellbeing Economy, published by SLE and BiGGAR Economics.