Miller Homes, the City of Edinburgh Council and Scottish Futures’ Trust (SFT) have launched a new limited liability partnership (LLP) as part of the National Housing Trust’s initiative (NHT), aimed at fast-tracking the delivery of new homes available for mid-market rental throughout Scotland.
Through the initiative, the NHT’s goal is to make more homes available at affordable rents in areas where demand is currently outstripping availability. In addition, it enables councils and developers to come together to kick start construction on sites that might otherwise have taken a longer time to get underway, safeguarding jobs in the house building industry.
Edinburgh is suffering a chronic shortage of affordable housing and is one of the Government’s target areas for accelerated affordable housing delivery. The LLP will use a managing agent, Lothian Homes, to manage the completed properties, identify potential tenants and manage the rentals over the contract term. Under the initiative homes must be available to rent over a 5 – 10 year period, following which tenants will have the opportunity to purchase their house at the market value or to move on. Should tenants not select to buy, the LLP will sell the property on the open market.
Miller Homes purchased the Varcity North site as part of a larger transaction from Telford College, which comprised three campuses (Telford South, Telford West and Telford North). The development of Telford West campus for Home Scotland Housing Association (40 affordable dwellings) was completed last year on time and on budget. Telford South, marketed as Varcity South, has now become one of the city’s, and Miller Homes’, most popular new build sales outlets. The last campus, now known as Varcity North, comprises 327 apartments within five new build blocks and a converted listed building. The apartments under the initiative comprise 89 apartments built over two new blocks.
