This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Research on Scotland’s housing needs
07/07/2004
A comprehensive picture of Scots housing needs was
unveiled today.
The analysis shows that with housebuilding outstripping
household growth, Scotland has not experienced the same
house price inflation as England, especially London.
However, it highlights problems around local house price
'hot spots' like Edinburgh and Inverness, and continuing
issues of homelessness.
In addition, land values are rising, potentially
indicating problems in the planning system in delivering
new developments.
Affordable Housing Review
In response to a detailed analysis of the Scottish
housing market, published today, Communities Minister
Margaret Curran outlined an initial package of
measures.
These include innovative approaches to help people get
on the property ladder, affordability targets, and
allocation of the £20m, previously set aside, to help
increase housing availability in hotspots.
Ms Curran said:
"The way the Scottish housing market works affects all
our lives, and the risk is that it is the most vulnerable
who lose out as prices rise.
"That's why I called for this analysis - to establish
the true state of the market in Scotland.
"It shows that although the market as a whole isn't as
overheated as in England, there are still real hot-spots
and challenges for us. We need both to provide social
rented housing, and do more to ensure first time buyers can
get a foot on the property ladder.
"To meet immediate demand, I am today allocating £20
million to relieve pressured areas and test out new
approaches to make it easier to rent or get on the property
ladder.
"We're already building or refurbishing 6,000 affordable
homes a year. Last month, we announced a £600 million
package which could deliver 10,000 new affordable homes in
Edinburgh. And I have concluded that Councils should be
able to use new borrowing rules introduced in April to
invest in new affordable housing.
"But this is just the start. Looking further ahead, we
are already looking at overhauling the planning system so
that it can react faster to needs. And we will be working
with local authorities as well as the private sector in
testing new models of housing ownership."
The £20 million will be used for:
- New housing projects to increase bought and rented
housing supply in pressured areas like Aberdeenshire,
Inverness, the Borders and the wider Edinburgh housing
market (£6.85 million).
- Creating 'landbanks' -targetted purchasing of land
in fast-growing areas so housing associations can build
in the future (£8.42 million).
- Pilot shared equity programme in Inverness, where
the buyer only needs to buy half the house, with the
housing provider retaining the other half share (£1.6.
million).
- Acceleration of existing affordable housing schemes
in pressured areas (£2.13 million).
- Support for local authorities who want to establish
cash incentive schemes for tenants to buy private
sector housing (£1 million).
The Minister continued: "Work on the development of
affordability targets for Scotland and its diverse housing
market areas will be taken forward over the next year.
These will be used to indicate whether these housing market
areas are functioning effectively and how they can be used
effectively to act as triggers for action.
"And we are looking at ways to expand the supply of
affordable housing for sale and rent in Scotland through
discussions with the house builders. For example, we are
working closely with Homes for Scotland on ways to expand
the supply of Starter Homes for sale on larger, planned
sites in areas under pressure or, where targetted funding
of RSLs can leverage in siginficant additonal housing
overall.
Finally, the Minister also indicated her intention to
ensure local plans and structure plans are integrated with
local housing strategies, that they are up to date that the
approval system streamlined and speeded up.
Commenting on the Minister's statement, David Knight,
the Chairman of Homes for Scotland, which represents the
house building industry in Scotland, said:
"We welcome the Minister's recognition that housing for
sale is an essential part of solving the problem of
providing affordable new homes for people in Scotland. Low
cost home ownership is an important part of the overall
housing market and the industry is ready to work with the
Executive to improve the supply of new homes in all market
sectors."
The Review shows how Scotland's housing has not
experienced the same price inflation as London or England
primarily because Scotland's house builders are producing
more houses per head. However, it also highlights where
there may be problems around local house price 'hot spots'.
In addition, independent research reveals a mixed pattern
of shortages and surpluses of affordable housing (social
rented as well as house for sale at below market prices)
across the country.
The analysis of the numbers of houses required used two
measures. The first looked at requirements across local
authorities. This found that, in total, up to 7,000
affordable homes may be required each year, for the next
ten years across almost half of Scotland's local
authorities. The second measure looked at requirements
across larger housing market areas. These are defined as
areas that households living in one local authority area
may move to and still remain within both commuting distance
of work and other amenities. This measure found that around
4,000 affordable homes may be required each year.
Both sets of analyses will enable the Executive, in
partnership with local authorities and other public and
private sector housing providers, to target future
resources. The findings of our review will be taken into
account in the forthcoming Spending Review.
The following low cost home ownership options will be
considered:
- Shared equity schemes where the buyer only has to
buy part thre house with housing associations having a
share in the remainder.
- Reduced price purchase. Grants for selected
purchasers to buy new houses from developers at below
the market price.
- Providing subsidy for single new houses in rural
areas, to replace the existing rural home ownership
grant scheme.
- Equity loans/ Homebuy scheme. This would be a new
scheme in Scotland. Grants would be provided towards
the purchase of the house by those qualifying for
assistance.
- Cash incentive schemes. Grants would be provided
to existing tenants in designated pressured areas to
buy in the private sector and thereby release houses
for social rent.