The Highlands Small Communities Housing Trust (HSCHT) works with local communities to assess the need for affordable housing and to identify and buy land to meet those needs.
The Trust offers serviced plots at discounted prices to people with a local connection who are finding it difficult to find an affordable site to build their own new home on.
Who is eligible?
Trust plots are targeted at people who have a clearly established residential, family or workplace connection with the Community Council area where the plot is located. Plots are sold, with services provided, at substantially discounted prices.
Conditions Attached
In return for the reduced plot price, the Trust includes a pre-emption right and related conditions in the title of every plot it sells. This allows the Trust to exercise a legal right to buy back the plot, and the house and other permanent structures built on it, whenever the owner decides to sell or transfer ownership of their property. This is known as the “Rural Housing Burden”.
The conditions are designed to make sure that the house will be affordable to similar purchasers with a local connection in the future and so continue to benefit the local community.
The conditions also protect the plot purchaser’s capital investment and allow for a proportionate return on the money and effort invested in putting the house on the site.
Advice
It is very important that anyone who is interested in buying a plot or house from the Trust understands the pre-emption right and conditions. You are strongly advised to get your Solicitor’s advice on the implications before making any decision on whether you would like to buy a plot or a house from the Trust.
Finance
Purchasers of Trust plots have received mortgage finance from a range of well-known high street lenders and at normal rates of interest. You are advised however to seek financial advice regarding the availability of mortgage lending at an early stage in any application to the Trust.
The Trust is always willing to speak to specific lenders on your behalf to explain the pre-emption right and conditions.
For those who cannot afford to meet the whole cost of building a new affordable home on a Trust plot, additional Scottish Government assistance with the cost of building and buying their new home may also be available. See the section on Rural Home Ownership Grants above.
How do I apply?
- Contact the Highlands Small Communities Housing Trust to register your interest in buying a plot on a specific site and get an application from them.
- Make sure you understand and are prepared to agree to the Trust’s pre-emption right and conditions.
- Once you have completed and returned the application form, The Trust will then assess it using its House Plot Allocation Policy.
- At the same time, get advice from the Trust as to whether you might also be eligible to receive a Rural Home Ownership Grant (RHOG).
- If the Trust approves your application you will be sent provisional offer to purchase.
- If you accept the provisional offer you will be sent a formal offer by the Trust’s Solicitor. This offer will be conditional upon you obtaining any mortgage and grant funding required in order to complete the sale. You should discuss this with your own Solicitor.
- If you then accept this formal offer, you will have secured a legally binding contract to purchase the plot from the Trust and you may be asked to pay a deposit at this stage.
- Once you have all necessary funds in place the sale will be concluded.
More detailed information is available in a booklet from The Highlands Small Communities Housing Trust or directly from The Highlands Small Communities Housing Trust staff. You can find contact information for them on the at the end of this chapter.
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