Shared equity scheme to unlock private homes

Through the Supply Shared Equity Scheme, buyers would purchase a 60 to 80 per cent stake in a property and the remainder of the price would be split equally between the Scottish Government and the developer.

Housing and communities minister Alex Neil said: ‘As part of this government’s economic recovery plan we want to help ensure house building can continue in the current economic climate to increase the supply of affordable homes.

‘This trial scheme, if successful, could double the number of affordable homes we can support from the public funds available for this type of shared equity housing.’

The scheme aims help people on low to moderate incomes to achieve homeownership, he added.

Jonathan Fair, chief executive of industry body Homes for Scotland, said: ‘Successful outcomes from [this] pilot scheme will pave the way for a sustained initiative specifically designed to encourage consumer activity and reinforce confidence in new home purchases.

‘Homes for Scotland member companies are therefore fully committed to making this pilot a success, helping to deliver key policy objectives that support both the people and communities in which we all live.’

This comes shortly after the Scottish Government published a paper criticising the current constitutional arrangements with the UK.

The document, People and Communities: Taking forward our National Conversation, states: ‘Current arrangements, whereby the UK government retains key responsibilities – the tax and benefits systems, the regulation of lending, consumer protection and businesses offering housing services, and borrowing – can, and in practice often do, thwart the revitalisation of housing in Scotland.’

Differences in housing law can mean that the fit of UK regulation with Scottish circumstances can be compromised, it also suggests.

The report -  which focuses on health, housing and law  - says as the Scottish Parliament does not have power over social security benefits it is limited in its ability ‘in housing to provide solutions to distinctly Scottish challenges – such as our colder climate and more people living in rural areas’.

Constitution minister Michael Russell said: ‘This paper exposes the way that Scotland and its communities are being let down by the current constitutional set-up in a whole range of areas.’

The paper is the seventh in a series which are being published as part of the National Conversation, which is looking at the issues and options for Scotland’s constitutional future.

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