Average waiting times for a council house is longer than a year across most of the north-east, according to new figures.
Only Aberdeenshire has an average waiting time of under 12 months, with applicants in Moray and Aberdeen all waiting longer than two years.
The Conservatives say cuts to the housing budget by the Scottish Government was to blame for lengthy delays.
MSP Miles Briggs, the party’s housing spokesman, said vulnerable people were suffering due to the SNP’s “continued failure” to prioritise the housing emergency.
He said: “People should not be left languishing in temporary accommodation for a year while they wait for a permanent home – never mind more than two decades, which is the reality in the most extreme cases.
“These figures are deeply concerning and a damning indictment of the SNP-Green government’s housing failures.
“Social housing is yet another area in which they have overpromised, but undelivered – and swingeing cuts to the housing budget are only likely to make the crisis even worse.
“The nationalists have dropped the ball on social housing for too long, yet again failing to focus on Scotland’s real priorities.”
A government spokesman said Scotland had led the way in providing 122,201 affordable homes since 2007, with 86,240 of these for social rent.
He added: “Since 2007, Scotland has seen over 40% more affordable homes delivered per head of population than in England, and over 70% more than in Wales and we have delivered over three times as many social rented homes per head of population than England over this period.
“We are making £3.5 billion available in this Parliamentary term, towards the delivery of more affordable and social homes.”
How do council house waiting lists work?
Local authorities manage their housing stock based on need, with anyone over the age of 16 able to apply.
But housing is allocated based on need rather than on a first come first served basis, with a points based system used to measure the urgency of an individual’s application.
Those awarded the most points will be housed soonest, while those who score zero may wait indefinitely for an offer — artificially increasing the average waiting time.
Aberdeen City
Responding to the information request, Aberdeen City Council included data for those waiting for a home as well as those looking to be re-housed.
This includes people who may be currently housed adequately but have requested to move to a different house or alternative area of the city.
Across all these lists, it said the average waiting time was more than 10 years.
The longest time someone has been on the council’s social housing list is 34 years, but they said the person already lives in council accommodation and has refused a number of offers.
Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire Council confirmed the average wait time for those currently awaiting a housing placement is around eight months – one of the shortest wait times across Scotland.
It also confirmed the longest time someone has been waiting is 35 years, but pointed out this person was classed an “non-offerable” – meaning they were not eligible.
Highland
Highland Council did not respond to the request for information.
Moray
Moray Council has the longest average wait time across the north-east, with applications taking around 14 months.
