Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government monitors trends in arrears and repossessions data published by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and UK Finance which is collated in the quarterly Scottish Housing Market Review Scottish housing market reviews - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

The Home Owners Support Fund is a last resort scheme aimed at properties at the lowest 20% of the housing market. Applicants must have either mortgage arrears or have an interest only mortgage that has reached the end of its term and have no appropriate option to either repay the loan or to re-mortgage. There are a range of protections, advice and support services already in place for homeowners and not all of those affected by the current cost of living crisis will apply to the scheme.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-10262 on 7 September 2022.

The Scottish Government does not hold the data requested. Property thresholds are being considered as part of the review.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

The average apartment rental charges have not been routinely published up to this point as we have considered this an operational matter. Figures are updated each year in line with CPI inflation figures and grant calculations are shared with social landlords before the purchase of a property is agreed. Going forward, the publication of annual rental charges will be looked at as part of the wider scheme review.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-10243 on 7 September 2022 which shows the number of successful applications to the Home Owners Support Fund in the last 6 years. Where a social landlord acquires a property through the scheme, the homeowner will remain in their home on Scottish Secure Tenancy terms. The Scottish Government does not collect data on homeowners’ circumstances after their application has successfully concluded.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

A Single Building Assessment will deliver a full assessment of fire risks on a building by building basis to highlight any issues related to fire safety including, but not limited to underground car parks and charging points.

Every building must gain the consent of homeowners in order to begin the contract process. Every building will require a qualified Fire Assessor to spend typically a number of weeks on and off-site to gather sufficient data and evidence to conduct a competent Single Building Assessment.

We are aware of the supply chain constraints in this field which is why we are working closely with Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and the Institute of Fire Engineers to ensure an appropriate stream of qualified assessors.

We are aware there may be constraints in the market place and we are working closely with a number of Scottish firms and with industry bodies and forums to monitor market availability, therefore we are able to prioritise Single Building Assessments.

All the 15 buildings using the grant based approach have been issued grant letters and had initial payments to allow contracts to be placed. All have fire engineers and surveyors working on assessments.

We have confirmed consent from 26 buildings. We have consent in principle from the homeowners from 29 additional buildings since we invited new buildings into the programme in May 2022. The timescale for the contracting process follows the standard Scottish Government procurement rules. We are aware of the supply chain constraints in this field, which is why are working closely with Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and the Institute of Fire Engineers to ensure an appropriate stream of qualified assessors. Time scales for the completion of Single Building Assessments are driven by the complexity of the building and are agreed as part of the normal contracting process.

Since 1 September 2018, the Scottish Government has paid £344,825 to Communities Housing Trust to administer the national Self Build Loan Fund.