New planning statistics for 2024/25 show local housing applications in Scotland — schemes of 49 homes or fewer — fell by 11%, underscoring the difficult conditions facing SME housebuilders, whose numbers have reached a 20-year low. Average decision times are now close to five months, more than double the statutory eight-week target.

Homes for Scotland noted that while more major housing applications were decided and their average determination times fell, they still exceed the 16-week statutory limit. HFS Director of Planning Kevin Murphy said: "Whilst it is encouraging to see an increase in the number of major housing applications being processed and their average decision timescales decreasing, they still far exceed the statutory timeframe of 16 weeks. More concerning however, is the fact that local housing applications (49 homes or less) have decreased for the fourth year in a row whilst average decision timeframes for these sites have continued to increase against their statutory benchmark of 8 weeks.

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"These performance statistics for local housing applications highlight the constrained operating environment our SME home builders are facing when trying to be bring forward the homes of all-tenures the country so desperately needs to tackle the housing emergency, particularly in rural communities where we know they are most active. With independent research already showing that SME home builders are at their lowest level in Scotland, with a 70 percent reduction since 2008 we need to see concerted effort across both national and local governments to speed up and make the planning process more proportionate for SMEs.

With the Cabinet Secretary for Housing committing to an ambition to see all-tenure housing completions increase 10 percent year on year over the next three years, we now need to see pace and urgency taken to alleviate the regulatory blockers that exist within our planning system. With the Scottish Budget approaching in January 2026, the sector needs to see clear financial backing for local planning authorities to increase resource and capacity, as well as ensuring the local and national planning digitisation budgets are increased to invest in digital solutions to help increase productivity."

The figures, released on 5 December 2025, come amid calls for faster, more proportionate planning processes and targeted funding to help councils improve capacity and digitisation.