Bill Welcomes Affordable Homes Initiative

Bill has welcomed an initiative that will create affordable housing in Fife and across Scotland.

The Scottish Government and Scottish Futures Trust are working with a number of Councils and developers to deliver hundreds of new affordable homes for rent across the country and support hundreds of jobs in the construction industry and wider economy.

Mr Walker said: “This is great news for tenants struggling to afford rents, as well as a shot in the arm for the struggling housing sector—and all at a low cost to the taxpayer.

“House-builders and any other Councils keen to participate need to submit the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire to the Scottish Futures Trust by the 9^th January, midday.”

Over 600 homes have already been approved under phase one of the initiative, with the first homes expected to be completed shortly. Almost half of Scotland’s 32 Councils, including Fife Council, are taking part in phase two of the National Housing Trust initiative (NHT).

The NHT allows developers and Councils to jointly fund homes with local authority loans to the scheme being underwritten by the Scottish Government. Homes will be available for rent below market value for five to 10 years before being sold, with tenants given priority to buy.

Housing Minister Keith Brown said: “As the savage Westminster cuts to our capital budget begin to bite, schemes such as the NHT are increasingly at the forefront of our drive for innovation.”

Neil Rutherford, associate director with the Scottish Futures Trust which manages the National Housing Trust (NHT) programme, stated: “The NHT programme has created a new and successful way to deliver affordable housing and key to its continued success is to build upon the unique partnerships that are being created between SFT, Scottish Government, councils and house builders.”