7. Rural Home Ownership Grants (RHOGs)
What are RHOGs and who provides them?
Rural Home Ownership Grants, or RHOGs as they are often called, are mainly intended to help people living in rural areas of Scotland to become first time homeowners - usually by building a house, but also by buying a suitable property. Grants are targeted at areas where it is difficult for people to own their own home. The RHOG is meant to fill the gap between the maximum level of mortgage the applicant can raise and the cost of a modest starter home. They are provided by Communities Scotland throughout rural Scotland.
Grants are targeted at areas where it is difficult for people to own their own home.
RHOG eligibility criteria and application procedure
Grants are aimed at local people in employment who are fist time buyers. If someone has previously owned their own home, they may still be eligible if they meet the other qualifying criteria. However, any capital gain from the sale of previous property will be taken into account when deciding whether they are eligible. Successful applicants must satisfy the following key requirements:
• be first time buyers (although some exceptions are possible)
• be a pensioner, sick or disabled with a family or local connection and have lived in the area for at least a year
• prove that they could not afford to become a homeowner without a RHOG
• prove that they could get a mortgage big enough to cover what they still have to pay for the house they want after the level of RHOG has been decided
• obtain the necessary planning and building consents
• otherwise comply with all the other Communities Scotland requirements on house size and specification (which some applicants may find restrictive).
Grant eligible costs include:
• the purchase of the house site or property
• building materials and construction costs
• legal fees
• architects and other consultancy fees
• building and planning consents
• putting services into the site (electricity, water, etc)
• interest on a bridging loan from the bank or building society.
Other key grant conditions include:
• restricted house and room sizes, depending on number of members in the RHOG applicant's household (although houses can be designed and constructed to permit additional rooms to be built in the roof spaces)
• a 10 year 'clawback' period on the grant, if the house is sold by the successful applicant within that period of time
• applicants who are eligible for other grant schemes such as Crofter Housing Grants and Loans must prove that they have been refused these grants before they can be considered for a RHOG.
How much grant is a RHOG applicant likely to get?
RHOGs vary according to how much the successful applicant can afford, but a grant of somewhere between £10,000 and £20,000 is typical, although one or two bigger grants may be awarded each year.
For general information and a list of eligible areas contact:
Communities Scotland,
Thistle House,
91 Haymarket Terrace,
Edinburgh
EH12 5HE
Telephone 0131 313 0044
Or access the website www.communitiesscotland.gov.uk
If you are considering living in a rural area, the Rural Housing Service has a very useful website. The Rural Housing Service helps rural communities to take action and develop practical solutions to local housing needs. They provide help and support on housing issues to rural communities and individuals throughout Scotland.
The Rural Housing Service is a FREE service.
There is a section on case studies highlighting rural communities who have taken action to improve housing in their community either through developing new housing or establishing new housing services. www.ruralhousingscotland.org.
