Hillcrest secures the future of Sandy Loan tenants by purchasing 15 apartments for affordable rent
Hillcrest has completed the purchase of 15 mid-market rent apartments in Broughty Ferry, securing long-term tenancies for the tenants who have been living in the apartments.
Built five years ago, the apartments, which are located a stone’s throw from Broughty Ferry’s beachfront were built under the Scottish Government’s National Housing Trust (NHT) initiative, an affordable rent programme run and managed by public sector infrastructure experts the Scottish Futures Trust, that has seen over 1,700 NHT homes built across Scotland. This initiative requires the properties to be available for affordable rent for five to ten years prior to the properties being sold either to the sitting tenant, the local authority or its nominee, or eventually on the open market.
In the event of the existing tenants not purchasing the homes, all the partners in the NHT initiative were committed to keeping the properties as affordable rent. Whilst engagement with the tenants established that they would not pursue the option to purchase their homes now, Hillcrest has committed that if any sitting tenants want to purchase at an agreed point in the future, they can, otherwise they are able to remain mid-market rent tenants.
Over the past five years Hillcrest Enterprises has been contracted to offer a management and maintenance service for the homes, and the successful purchase of the homes brings continuity of service to the tenants.
The purchase of the properties has been made possible with the aid of Scottish Government funding and the support of Dundee City Council and Scottish Futures Trust.
Hillcrest deputy chief executive Fiona Morrison, said: “We’re delighted to have completed the purchase of the homes at Sandy Loan, particularly with the lack of affordable housing in the pressured area of Broughty Ferry.
“These homes have proven popular with the tenants who have settled into them and enjoyed their great location, and it’s fantastic that our purchase of them will now remove any uncertainty the tenants may have had around the future of their homes.
Councillor Anne Rendall, Dundee City Council neighbourhood services convener, said: “This is great news and the council is proud to have played a part in establishing these properties.
“The scheme delivered much needed quality housing, in an area of the city in which it has been traditionally difficult to build affordably priced homes in. The purchase by Hillcrest is a welcome development for the future.”