The Scottish Government has announced that loans will be available for social landlords to deliver new affordable housing, as part of a multimillion pound investment programme.
As part of the Charitable Bond programme, £80 million worth of loans will be available for registered housing associations during the current financial year and the interest paid on the loans will be reinvested as grants for the social rented sector. This will hopefully continue to boost the supply of affordable housing.
Housing Secretary Shona Robison said:
“The Charitable Bond programme is an innovative way too offer funding to social landlords so that they can deliver as many homes as possible.
“The programme gives social landlords access to funding that they can’t receive elsewhere, and reinvests the interest paid on the loans – further increasing housing supply.
“Scotland has led the way in the delivery of affordable housing across the UK with almost 113,000 affordable homes built since 2007. This investment will help towards our current target ”
Since 2014, over £260 million worth of loans have been given to housing associations across Scotland, with almost £50 million off grants being generated.
The funding is being delivered by a social enterprise firm on behalf of the Scottish Government, with the enterprise focusing on arranging funding for housing associations and other charities. Peter Freer, Director for Scotland at the enterprise, said:
“This programme provides a form of unsecured finance that isn’t otherwise available in the market to enable Scottish housing associations to deliver much needed affordable homes.
“We’re delighted to continue our successful eighty-year partnership with the Scottish Government with an even greater target for investment across the sector over the next four years.”
