Average waiting times for council housing are longer than a year in Angus and Fife, with those in Dundee waiting around seven months.
New figures obtained by the Scottish Conservatives give an indication of how long locals living in Dundee, Fife and Angus can expect to wait on the social housing register.
Many applicants wait more than a year for a home, but in extreme cases, such as in Fife, some cases have been outstanding for over 15 years.
The Conservatives say 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.
Dundee City Council house waiting times
Of all three councils in Tayside and Fife, applicants living in Dundee had the lowest average waiting time for a council home in 2022-23.
Those who applied for help waited an average of 260 days for a council home in the city.
The longest time someone waited to get a house is 9,369 days, but the local authority says this person was only assessed as having a need for rehousing for 89 days.
Angus Council house waiting times
In Angus, those who applied for a social home waited an average of 511 days, the second longest waiting time across Tayside and Fife.
The local authority confirmed that the longest time someone had been waiting was 6,000 days, however they said this person was on the no priority list.
Fife Council house waiting times
Those applying for a council house in Fife in 2022-23 waited an average of 755 days, according to information made available by the local authority.
The oldest live application on the council’s system has been waiting for 6,726 days.
