The three tenders, totalling £6.5 million, relate to sites at Ferrylea in Forres, Barhill Road in Buckie and Linkwood Steadings in Elgin.

Funding from the Scottish Government will cover around £3m of the overall cost of the projects.

Twenty houses will be built at Ferrylea, 15 at Barhill Road and 16 at Linkwood Steadings.

Moray Council has set a target of building 50 new council houses each year for the next decade to help meet the demand for affordable housing.

The tenders were approved by the council’s policy and resources committee.

Councillor George Alexander, chairman of the council’s communities committee, whose remit includes housing, said: “This is excellent news for those waiting for rented housing in Moray and it shows that the council is determined to uphold its promise to build a minimum of 50 affordable houses annually for the next 10 years while maintaining the lowest average council house rents in Scotland.”