Up to 120 new homes for rent could be built in Fife over the next few years under a government scheme to provide more affordable housing.
It is hoped the National Housing Trust (NHT) initiative will reduce housing pressures in the region, kick-start the housing market and support jobs in the building industry.
The project, which will be launched throughout Scotland, will provide mid-market homes for rent on a short assured tenancy of between five and 10 years.
At the end of the rental term the properties can be sold at full market value and the proceeds used to repay the initial funding of the initiative.
However, while the scheme has been broadly welcomed by councillors, concern was expressed about what would happen to the householders once their tenancies came to an end.
In Fife, the new homes will initially be targeted at those on the housing register in St Andrews, Kirkcaldy and Dunfermline as these areas have the least amount of affordable housing available.
The initiative is being progressed by the Scottish Futures Trust, an independent company established by the Scottish Government to deliver value for money across public infrastructure investment.
It involves local authorities borrowing money to pay 65% of the cost of a house, with private developers paying 30% and the final 5% coming from a loan note.
The Scottish Government will offer a guarantee to local authorities in respect of the borrowing, which in Fife’s case could be between £7.2 million and £10.8 million.”Significant housing need”In a report to yesterday’s housing and communities committee, Fife Council’s head of housing Derek Muir said the local authority had identified “significant housing need,” but said there was uncertainty over future levels of public funding through traditional routes to support new build affordable housing.
“It is therefore important to consider more innovative models to deliver affordable housing which can work in conjunction with more established approaches,” he said.
“It should be noted that the NHT initiative should not replace or squeeze out the affordable housing investment, nor will it affect Fife Council’s ability to bring forward funding for council new build.”
Mr Muir said the initiative’s strengths included the fact it would meet housing need and demand and could help in meeting homeless targets.
It would also provide stable tenancies for those on low incomes and support jobs in the construction industry with interest already identified among local builders.
In addition, Fife Council would not have to manage the properties.
However, he added that among the weaknesses was the fact the tenancies were temporary with a potential risk of homelessness at the end.
Labour’s housing spokesman on Fife Council, councillor David Ross, said that while there was a need to look seriously at anything, which provided extra affordable housing, there were still too many unanswered questions.
“What areas of land do we have in mind, what developers do we have lined up, what levels of rent are we talking about, who are we talking about on the housing list who might actually be interested in this?” he asked.
“There are also issues about what happens with the maintenance on these properties and we would be looking for clarification and assurances on all these points before we press the button on this.”
Photo used under Creative Commons licence courtesy of Flickr user woodleywonderworks.