Moves to ease social housing pressure in Highlands

14th October 2010

Plans to protect housing stock approved

Steps to prevent shortages of affordable housing in Highland have been announced today.

The Highland Council's application to extend and expand 'pressured areas' status has been approved by the Housing and Communities Minister, Alex Neil.

These changes will immediately affect almost 6,000 tenancies in the region that will have the Right to Buy their council or housing association property suspended for five years.
The suspension of Right to Buy only applies to tenancies which have commenced since September 30, 2002.

Housing and Communities Minister Alex Neil said:"This Government is committed to doing all it can to increase the supply of affordable housing across Scotland.
"That is why we have agreed to Highland Council's request to suspend Right to Buy to ease the substantial pressures facing affordable housing in the region.
"These steps help to protect the Council's social housing stock and alleviate the pressures on social rented properties in the area."

Councillor Margaret Davidson, Chairman of The Highland Council's Housing and Social Work Committee, said: "We are delighted that our application to the Scottish Government for Pressured Area Status has been successful.

"The move is one of the many ways that we are addressing the severe and persistent lack of affordable housing in many parts of the Highlands."

Background
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.

The pressured area designation lasts for 5 years and by designating the following areas, the Modernised Right to Buy will be suspended for tenants with modernised tenancies for the majority of communities in Highland for a period of five years. The exception being Caithness where the Modernised Right to Buy suspension would only apply to Thurso and small neighbouring communities within the Thurso settlement zone.

Renewal of the existing suspension of the Modernised Right to Buy includes the following 'Pressured Area' designated communities:

All communities in Badenoch & Strathspey.
Communities in the Inverness Area (except Merkinch and Hilton).
Communities in Lochaber (except Kinlochleven; the Plantation estate and the three streets of Carn Dearg; The Corries and Polmona in Claggan).
All communities in Nairn.
Communities in Ross & Cromarty (except Alness, Aultbea, Balintore and Milton).
All communities in Skye and Lochalsh.

In addition, suspension of the Modernised Right to Buy will also expand to include the following communities:

Merkinch and Hilton in Inverness;
Kinlochleven; the remaining streets in Fort William i.e. Plantation estate and the streets of Carn Dearg; The Corries and Polmona in Claggan
Alness, Aultbea; Milton and Balintore;
Sutherland;
Thurso and the small neighbouring communities within the Thurso settlement zone1 (i.e. Forss; Geise; Glengolly; Janetstown; Scrabster; Weydale) in Caithness.