Question reference: S5W-17320
- Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
- Date lodged: 18 June 2018
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Current status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Kevin Stewart on 19 June 2018
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to support the delivery of more affordable housing.
Answer
Today, I will announce the positive outcome of the Mid-Market Rent (MMR) Invitation, a further innovative initiative designed to expand the supply of affordable homes through long term loan investment.
£47.5m of Scottish Government loan funding is being provided to the Placemaking and Regeneration Group, Places for People for a proposal which will deliver 1,000 affordable mid-market rent homes and attract Institutional Investment to deliver a total funding package of around £150m into the Scottish Economy.
Places for People have set up a residential real estate fund which will own and deliver mid-market rent homes, supporting people on low and modest incomes to access high quality rented accommodation at affordable rent levels.
The Fund has been established as a Scottish Limited Partnership, managed by PfP Capital, the Financial Conduct Authority authorised fund management business for Places for People. A number of safeguards have been put in place to ensure that there is absolute transparency on who investors are and how the Fund will operate.
This is one of a number of Scottish Government supported schemes that will continue to expand the delivery of affordable mid-market rent housing, where required, to ensure that those on low to moderate incomes have access to high quality homes at affordable rent levels.
We will continue to work with local authorities to deliver such housing through innovative funding models that can attract significant levels of private investment, and support grant funded mid-market rent housing delivered through housing associations and their subsidiaries.