Additional £3m of funding for rural affordable home scheme announced

A scheme enabling people to rent affordable homes in rural Scotland is to be extended by the Scottish Government.

Delivered by the Highlands Small Communities Housing Trust (HSCHT), the project offers people a chance to rent for five years.

After that they receive a cash return to be used as a deposit so they can buy the property below market value.

The price is set at 20% below market value at the start of the agreement.

It has now been announced £3 million of extra funding will be ploughed into the initiative – equating to around 25 new build homes.

The first funding the Scottish Government issued to this scheme was in March 2013 when it gave a £1.3m loan to HSCHT to build 12 properties.

This was followed by a £2.84m loan in March 2014 to build an additional 23 properties across the Highlands.

The Scottish Government said the scheme has used small and local companies to build the properties to date, and the funding boost will continue to help small builders.

Margaret Burgess, housing minister, announced the extension.

She said: “These new homes will not only give families ownership of affordable homes where they can be safe and warm, but they will boost the economy by creating a demand for small, local contractors to build homes.”

Ronnie MacRae, HSCHT’s chief executive officer said: “The scheme is based entirely on loan finance which has the potential to be recyclable and provide social and economic benefit to rural communities for the longer term.”

The cash is additional to the £30m of additional funds announced for Help to Buy (Scotland) last week.