Social housing tenant has been waiting six years for a ground floor flat in West Dunbartonshire

Managing a set of steep steps everyday is starting to become a challenge for social housing tenant Sharon Cassidy.

She put her name down for a ground floor one-bed property in West Dunbartonshire six years ago but she’s still waiting.

“I do joke sometimes with my children, ‘you’ll have to carry me out of here, cause I won’t be able to walk down the stairs'”, she told STV News.

“But joking aside, it does cross my mind every now and again, I do worry about it. I don’t see me moving on to another property. I didn’t really class myself as being part of the housing crisis.”

There are huge pressures on the housing system, not only in West Dunbartonshire, but right across the country.

Many housing associations are dealing with record numbers of people in need of a suitable place to live.

Figures obtained by STV News found that 5,343 people are on a housing waiting list in West Dunbartonshire and 245 households are living in temporary accommodation.

Red tape, planning laws and lack of funding are holding up construction for Knowes Housing Association.

They’ve got 700 people on a waiting list for a home.

Erica Davidson, CEO of Knowes, said: “There are virtually no empty homes at present, this is the first time we’ve ever so many people on a waiting list. All the bureaucracy involved with that, (people) actually need the houses now, not ten years in the future.”

Since the Scottish Government declared a national housing emergency, ten councils have said they are at crisis point.

Targets to build more than 100,000 affordable homes within the next eight years appear unlikely to be met.

The latest figures show the number of social homes constructed this year was just over 5,000.That’s down by almost a third (27%) compared to last year but the number of housing association homes started are at their lowest level in over a decade.

Six council areas haven’t completed any new homes in the last year – Angus, Clackmannanshire, East Dunbartonshire, Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands and West Dunbartonshire.

Sally Thomas of the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, said the lack of funding and consistent support for social housing both financially and politically means the government is not on track to meet its target.,

The Scottish Government say they’ve delivered more than 131,000 affordable homes since 2007, with more than 93,000 of those being for social rent.

Housing minister Paul McLennan said: “I recently outlined the Scottish Government’s plan to tackle the housing emergency with three key pillars forming part of our approach: more high quality, permanent homes, the right homes in the right places and a permanent home for everyone.

“While we remain focused on delivering 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, our capital block grant is being reduced by nearly 10%, a loss of more than £1.3bn by 2027-28. Likewise, our Financial Transactions budget – key to delivering affordable housing – has been cut by 62%.”

In the meantime, people like Sharon will be left on a waiting list for a house that’s unlikely to become their home anytime soon.