Scottish Government to exceed affordable homes target

With a five-year target of 30,000 affordable homes by March 2016, Housing Minister Margaret Burgess, has today announced that the Scottish Government is on course to exceed the target.

Some 28,000 affordable homes have already been delivered, with 19,025 for social rent including almost 5,000 new council homes.

From 2009, the first time in 30 years, councils have been awarded funding to build new housing, which has led to 5,666 new council homes across Scotland.

Over the next three years, the Scottish Government will also invest some £195M in a new shared-equity scheme. As a successor to the existing Help to Buy (Scotland) scheme, it will focus on affordable homes. This will help around 6,5000 households to buy a new-build home.

Mrs Burgess said: “Access to good quality housing, for people across Scotland, is my number one priority.

“Against a challenging financial background, the Scottish Government is doing everything it can to increase supply. Over the lifetime of this Parliament, our planned investment in affordable housing will exceed £1.7Bn.

“Housing is about more than bricks and mortar. We want to help create neighbourhoods, with energy-efficient homes, that provide a safe environment for communities to flourish.

“Having more houses is not only good for the economy, it also helps promote social justice, strengthens communities and tackles inequality.

“Scotland is leading the way in the UK in pioneering financial innovation. Using government guarantees, loans, grant recycling and new sources of private funding is substantial and growing.

“Examples include the National Housing Trust initiative, which has delivered more affordable homes for less public investment. We have also reduced waiting lists and homelessness, significantly improved housing quality and energy efficiency.

“We will introduce a new Private Tenancies Bill that will meet the government’s commitment to give private rented sector tenants increased security, while giving landlords and investors the confidence to continue investing in the sector.

“We have worked hard to address the housing challenges we inherited and plan to continue our efforts in the years ahead.”

 

 

 

 

 

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