The Scottish Government will help individuals and families into new homes and boost the economy through millions of pounds of new investment in housing.
A funding package of £45 million will deliver around 1,200 homes, including council and housing association homes for social rent.
The package includes support for people on low to moderate incomes across Scotland wishing to purchase their home. It is estimated that the funding will support up to 800 jobs in construction and related sectors over the next two years.
Finance Secretary John Swinney announced the allocation of additional funding for housing when he unveiled his draft Budget on September 20.
Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said:
“Investing in affordable homes creates a jobs spin-off with the employment and training that takes place during construction.
“Thanks to the sound decisions announced by John Swinney in his budget last month, I can announce a package of £45 million that will support 1,200 new houses across councils, housing associations and the private sector.
“This funding illustrates that despite the cuts to our capital budget by Westminster, the Scottish Government is determined to continue investing in new social housing.
“Councils across Scotland, backed by over £115 million from the Scottish Government, have spearheaded a new era of council house building. In the last twelve months over 1,000 council houses were built, this is the highest number of completions recorded in the last twenty years.
“Independence is very much about creating jobs and growing the economy and, as this new funding illustrates, we could do so much more of it if we had full responsibility for our own resources.”