Welcome to Scotland: a guide for service personnel and their families in Scotland (updated 2021)

Housing

In Scotland, in addition to Service Family Accommodation, Single Living Accommodation and the Future Accommodation Model which is being piloted at HMNB Clyde^[1] (all of which are provided through the Ministry of Defence), there are a number of housing options available depending on where you would like to live.

Housing Options Scotland

The Scottish Government supports Housing Options Scotland to provide its Military Matters Project. This service provides support to veterans, currently serving personnel, their families and dependants to find the right home in the right place throughout the country. For more information visit Housing Options Scotland.

Joint Service Housing Advice (JSHAO)

JSHAO is the MOD's tri-service focal point to provide service personnel and their dependants with civilian housing information for those wishing to move to civilian accommodation at any time in their career, and for those during resettlement to assist with the transition to civilian life Joint Service Housing Advice.

Buying a Home

If you wish to buy a home but cannot afford the total cost there are a number of schemes that might be able to help you.

The Forces Help to Buy Scheme enables Service personnel to borrow up to 50% of their salary (to a maximum of £25,000) to buy their first home, or to move to another property on assignment or as their families' needs change. More information can be found at Forces Help to Buy: help to get on the property ladder.

The Scottish Government operates shared equity schemes which can help you to buy a home that is for sale on the open market, or to buy a new build home from a housing association or local council. Support is also offered through the Help to Buy (Scotland) Scheme to purchase a new build property from a participating builder.

Funding for these schemes is provided by the Scottish Government, and you can find out more about them at Homeowners.

Shared ownership is also available in Scotland. You should be aware however that shared ownership is very different from shared equity. With shared equity you own the home outright, but with shared ownership a housing association still owns part of the home and charges you a fee to live in it. More information is available at Getting help to buy your home.

Land and Buildings Transaction Tax

If you purchase property over a certain value in Scotland you will pay Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT). The tax is payable at different rates on each portion of the purchase price within specified tax bands, though there are some reliefs in place such as for first-time buyers.

Personnel who already own a property should also be aware of the LBTT Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS), which is payable on the total purchase price of an additional dwelling of £40,000 or more. It applies where a buyer purchases a dwelling in Scotland and at the end of the effective date of that transaction the buyer owns more than one dwelling (which can be anywhere in the world) and they are not replacing their only or main residence. The ADS can subsequently be reclaimed where a previous main residence is disposed of, however there are particular timelines and rules in place. LBTT is administered by Revenue Scotland, you will find more information and detailed examples on their website at Land and Buildings Transaction Tax.

You will find more general information regarding living in Scotland at AboutScotland.

Renting a Property

You may wish to rent a property from a private landlord or apply for housing from a social landlord, either a local council or housing association.

If you want to rent a home privately there are steps you should follow. For example, before you move into a property, you should sign a tenancy agreement which sets out the terms of your tenancy. You'll usually pay the first month's rent and the deposit on the day you move into the property - your deposit must then be lodged in a tenancy deposit scheme. This means that when you leave the property your deposit will be returned in full if the property is left in good condition and all rent and bills have been paid.

MOD Tenancy Support Scheme

Tenancy Support scheme allows civilian and Service personnel to apply for an advance of pay/salary to help meet the cost of a deposit for a rental property. More information on this scheme is available on Tenancy Deposit Loan Scheme.

Many organisations provide homes for mid-market rent. These homes are aimed at helping people on low to modest incomes to access affordable, private rented accommodation. There are several ways of finding where these homes are, but the best is probably to look at what housing associations operate in your area or to check your local council's website.

Comprehensive information for tenants about private renting in Scotland can be found in the 'Private residential tenancies: tenant's guide'.

Housing associations and many local councils provide homes for social rent. When you apply for a social rented home, your housing needs will be checked and your application will be held on a housing list. Social landlords decide who is offered housing based on an applicant's housing need and in line with the landlord's allocation policy. You can find information about how to apply for social housing from local councils. Alternatively, you can apply directly to a housing association - the Scottish Housing Regulator maintains the public register of all Registered Social Landlords in Scotland.

For more information about renting a home in Scotland visit Renting a property.

Council Tax

You will usually have to pay council tax, payable to your local council, if you're 18 or over and own or rent a home. If you rent, check your rental agreement to see who is responsible for council tax payments.

Your council tax band determines how much council tax you pay. You can find out the council tax band of your home by looking the property online via the Scottish Assessors website.

Council Tax in Scotland has been frozen at 2020/21 levels, when the average charge for all property bands, including E, F, G and H, was between £339 and £509 lower in Scotland than England.

Armed forces personnel and their families may benefit from a 50% council tax discount where their home is left empty because their professional duties require them to live elsewhere.

For more information on council tax and to learn about council tax in your local authority you can visit What is council tax?

Universal Credit

The Scottish Government offers people living in Scotland, and in receipt of the UK Government Universal Credit (UC), the choice to have the housing costs in their UC award paid direct to their landlord.

An information leaflet for people applying for, or in receipt of UC, is on the Scottish Government website at Universal Credit: New choices for people living in Scotland (www.gov.scot)