CBI Scotland has called for at least 25,000 homes to be built each year, and says Scotland has fallen 110,000 homes short since 2008.
The business group says ministers should treat housing as economic infrastructure and report progress against that target publicly.
It argues that Scotland cannot attract and keep workers, or support regional growth, without enough homes.
The call appears in Planning for Growth: Scotland, a joint planning report covered by Scottish Housing News, and in CBI Scotland’s 2026 business manifesto.
The planning report says only 19,797 homes were completed in 2024 and warns output could fall even further if delivery does not improve.
The report links slow delivery to planning capacity and land supply, including out-of-date local development plans and thin pipelines of consented land.
It asks for public delivery milestones, more land matched to need, and planning reforms that cut delay so investors can fund both affordable and market homes.
Without a significant increase in housing supply the outlook for first time buyers in Scotland is unlikely to improve. So we support the CBI’s call for planning reform that gets Scotland building.
Sources
- https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/housing-should-be-treated-as-economic-infrastructure-cbi-report-concludes
- https://www.cbi.org.uk/articles/cbi-scotland-2026-business-manifesto/
- https://www.cbi.org.uk/media/gbjbrvse/cbi-scotland-business-manifesto-2026.pdf
- https://www.planninggeek.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Planning-for-Growth-Scotland.pdf