Shared equity housing schemes, properties available, building companies involved: FOI release

Information requested

 

1. Information on properties in Scotland available under Help to Buy Scheme, if this is too broad, please send Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh only.  I would like to know how many properties are available under that scheme, where they are located and what’s the name of the company who builds them.

2. Information on properties in Scotland available under Golden Share scheme, I would like to know how many properties are available under that scheme, where they are located and what’s the name of the company who builds them.

3. Information on properties in Scotland available under LIFT scheme, I would like to know how many properties are available under that scheme, where they are located and what’s the name of the company who builds them.

4. Information on any other housing initiatives similar to those listed in points 1,2,3

 

Response

 

1. Properties are available across the whole of Scotland for Help to Buy (Scotland). Home builders register voluntarily to take part and do not provide details of specific developments or their geographical location when they register. There is a list of participating home builders available on the Scottish Government website https://www.mygov.scot/help-to-buy/registered-builders/ and we recommend those interested in applying for the scheme contact home builders directly to identify where their developments are located.  The maximum value of property that can be purchased through this scheme is £200,000 and applicants can receive up to a maximum 15% equity stake. 

Monitoring information and characteristics of households for Help to Buy (Scotland) are published annually and can be found under the Funding and Monitoring Information section of this webpage https://www.gov.scot/policies/homeowners/help-to-buy/ . 

 

2. Golden share is not a Scottish Government scheme, the purpose of the golden share arrangement is to enable Scottish Government to retain a property which has been purchased through one of the Low Cost Initiative for First-Time Buyers (LIFT) schemes in the affordable sector so that it can be resold by Scottish Ministers to an applicant on a shared equity basis under the LIFT schemes.  Local authorities can apply a golden share to the Scottish Government New Supply Shared Equity (NSSE) and Open Market Shared Equity (OMSE) properties in areas of highly constrained affordable housing.  In the majority of shared equity transactions, an owner will have the option of increasing their equity stake.  However, if a golden share applies the purchaser can only acquire a maximum of 80% (NSSE) or 90% (OMSE) of the value of the property. The Scottish Ministers share of 10 to 20% is then secured by way of a standard security.

In golden share properties, the shared equity agreement between the purchaser and the Scottish Government contains a contractual right of pre-emption. This means that if the owner wishes to sell, they must first offer to sell 100% of the property to Scottish Ministers.  If Scottish Ministers exercise the right of pre-emption they buy out the owner’s share at the current market value ensuring there is no financial detriment to the owner or their mortgage provider.  The property can then be re-sold through the LIFT scheme on a golden share basis. 

For all golden share properties Scottish Ministers will only exercise the contractual right of pre-emption where another buyer has been identified to purchase the property.  If there is no buyer lined up Scottish Ministers will allow the owner to sell the property on the open market.    

Some local authorities have discounted sales model schemes which are branded ‘golden share’, however this is not connected to the Scottish Government golden share for LIFT.

 

3. The Low Cost Initiative for First-Time Buyers (LIFT) scheme is made up of the  New Supply Shared Equity (NSSE) and the Open Market Shared Equity (OMSE).

NSSE properties are built by registered social landlords (RSLs) or local authorities. A list of the current projects available can be found at https://www.mygov.scot/new-supply-shared-equity-scheme/find-a-project-in-your-area/ .

OMSE allows successful applicants to purchase a property being sold on the open market within specific price thresholds and by size and location.  Applications are assessed by the administering agent and successful applicants are issued with what is known as a passport letter which details the size and maximum price threshold they are eligible for, applicants can then look for a property within that criteria on the open market.  More information including a link to the current price thresholds can be found at https://www.mygov.scot/open-market-shared-equity-scheme/

The number of properties sold through NSSE and OMSE are reported in the annual Affordable Housing Supply Programme Out-turn reports which can be found at https://www.gov.scot/policies/more-homes/affordable-housing-supply/ .  Like Help to Buy (Scotland) these schemes are available across Scotland. 

 

4. We have interpreted “housing initiatives similar to those listed in points 1,2,3” as being other shared equity schemes.  The Scottish Government does not currently have any other shared equity schemes.  However, information on further housing initiatives can be found on the Scottish Government website at   https://www.mygov.scot/housing-local-services/

 

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