Government makes £590m investment in rented homes and support for home ownership

The Scottish Government is to make over £590 million available for 2017/18 to increase the supply of affordable homes in Scotland.

Councils across the country will share £422m in grant subsidy to deliver more affordable homes in their local communities. The remaining investment will fund national schemes, including support for first time buyers and increasing rural and island housing.

The total budget is an increase of £18m compared to last year.

Announcing the funding on a visit to Link Housing Association’s new development in Edinburgh today – where 161 city centre homes are being built for social and mid-market rent and shared equity, supported by £7.3m from the Scottish Government – communities secretary Angela Constance said: “A good supply of affordable homes is vital to ensuring everyone has an equal chance of getting on in life. That is why it is key to this Government’s commitment to tackling poverty, reducing inequality and building strong local communities. It also boosts the economy by supporting 14,000 jobs right across the country.

“We’re determined to increase and accelerate housing supply – working in partnership with councils and housing associations to deliver quality homes to fit local needs.

“We are committed to delivering at least 50,000 new affordable homes over this Parliament backed by £3 billion. This major and increased investment for 2017/18 that I’m announcing today supports our ambitious commitment.”

Andy Wightman MSP, housing spokesperson for the Scottish Greens, called for greater effort to bring empty homes back into use.

The MSP for Lothian pointed out that given average property prices, the £590m funding will only deliver 4,000 homes or 8 per cent of the government’s target of 50,000 homes by 2021.

He said: “As well as building more homes, we need to bring Scotland’s empty homes back into use as homelessness figures are rising across the country. Shelter Scotland report that there are 34,000 empty homes in the private sector that can be used to tackle the housing crisis.

“Coupled with that, there are issues with the overwhelming growth of the short term lets sector too. In Edinburgh alone, over 6,200 properties are rented out in this way, excluding people from taking up permanent tenancies in the city. Yet, this is not just an urban issue, as it also significantly blights the sustainability of our rural communities. We therefore need local councils and Scottish Ministers to do more to support efforts in this area.

“Our councils should also be empowered to take a much bolder approach to housing, buying land at existing use value so budgets go much further, and discouraging the speculative volume house building that does so much damage to our communities.”

Details of the Resource Planning Assumptions for each local authority for 2017/18 (in £m’s) can be found below:

Aberdeen City 12.279

Aberdeenshire 19.393

Angus 5.754

Argyll & Bute 11.606

Clackmannanshire 3.888

Dumfries & Galloway 13.828

Dundee City 11.459

East Ayrshire 8.003

East Dunbartonshire 5.247

East Lothian 6.894

East Renfrewshire 4.001

Edinburgh City 29.115

Eilean Siar 5.771

Falkirk 7.657

Fife 21.889

GHA 16.114

Glasgow City 66.974

Highland 28.761

Inverclyde 7.531

Midlothian 5.831

Moray 6.908

North Ayrshire 10.160

North Lanarkshire 24.487

Orkney Islands 3.594

Perth & Kinross 11.681

Renfrewshire 11.521

Scottish Borders 10.088

Shetland Islands 3.287

South Ayrshire 8.047

South Lanarkshire 18.074

Stirling 6.102

West Dunbartonshire 7.650

West Lothian 8.963

Total 422.557