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Aberdeen suspends right to buy
05/09/2007
Right to Buy has been suspended in areas of Aberdeen to prevent serious shortages of affordable housing.
Ministers have accepted Aberdeen City Council's request to apply 'pressured area' status to 35 letting areas.
This will allow the council to retain homes for rent to people on low incomes in areas facing social housing pressures aggravated by Right to Buy.
Communities Minister Stewart Maxwell said:
"Aberdeen City Council requested the suspension of Right to Buy to ease the substantial pressures facing affordable housing in the city.
"It is the eighth council to have successfully applied to use the pressured area mechanism and I would ask other councils to consider whether it could be used as a suitable response to particular pressures within their areas.
"The Scottish Government wishes to explore ways of achieving greater local flexibility in the operation of the Right to Buy. The pressured area mechanism is one way of achieving this, but we will be looking at what more can be done to make the scheme more responsive to local needs, while taking into account the rights of existing tenants."
Tenants within the designated areas will have the Right to Buy their rented council or housing association house suspended for five years:
Cults, Ferryhill, Kingswells, Denmore, Middleton, Mannofield, Cove, Fountainhall, Altens, Old Aberdeen, Craigiebuckler, Bon Accord, Westburn, Bridge of Don, Stoneywood, George Street, Dyce, Holburn, Union Grove, Rosehill, Ruthrieston, Raeden, Central, Garthdee/Kaimhill, Bucksburn, Berryden, Peterculter, Balgownie, Ashgrove, Hilton, Sheddocksley, Hazlehead, Pittodrie, Rosemount, and Kepplehills.
The suspension of Right to Buy only applies to tenancies which have commenced since September 30, 2002. An estimated 1,796 tenancies in Aberdeen are affected.
Pressured area designations have now been approved in the following local authority areas:
- East Renfrewshire (Eastwood area) on October 7, 2005
- Highland (all areas excluding Caithness, Sutherland and some estates in Inverness and Fort William) on November 15, 2005
- South Ayrshire (29 letting areas comprising much of Prestwick and Ayr, and rural settlements) on February 10 2006
- Moray (Elgin, Lossiemouth and Forres rural) on March 7, 2006
- Fife (St Andrews and the East Neuk) on May 8, 2006 and (13 west Fife villages) on January 15, 2007
- Dumfries and Galloway (69 villages of population less than 400 across the local authority area) on June 5, 2006
- Perth & Kinross (21 letting areas across Highland Perthshire and in the rural areas around Perth) on February 2, 2007
Right to Buy changed significantly when the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 reduced and capped discount levels, extended the qualifying period to five years and introduced the pressured area mechanism.