Council Housing - Aberdeenshire Council

Record Number: 4317
Website: http://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk

Services

Aberdeenshire Council Housing is part of the Housing and Social Work service. The Housing Options section gives advice to housing applicants, manages a waiting list, and allocates housing from the waiting list. It also provides help, advice and assistance with accommodation for homeless people or those threatened with Homelessness.

The size of accommodation offered by Aberdeenshire Council will depend on the size and needs of an applicant's permanent household. The Council also provides a range of housing which has been specifically designed and built to meet the needs of certain groups, particularly older people and those with special needs.

Council housing

Council housing includes properties such as larger family houses, flats and single person accommodation.

Aberdeenshire Council in conjunction with 8 other partners have a common application form where applicants can apply for Social Housing. The site and further information can be accessed at http://www.apply4homes.org.uk/

Sheltered housing

Sheltered housing allows older people or people with a disability to live independently for as long as possible with appropriate support in a comfortable and secure environment. Assistance and support for tenants in sheltered housing is provided by the Sheltered Housing Officers. Security is offered through an alarm system, which allows direct contact between individual residents and Sheltered Housing staff and other support services. Sheltered housing also provides the opportunity for social contact and companionship, but equally respects the individuals right to privacy. In all sheltered housing developments there are communal facilities, including a residents lounge, laundry facilities and guest bedrooms.

Other Housing Options - Housing Associations

Registered housing associations are non-profit making agencies run by professional staff, but controlled by management committees. Housing Associations receive grants from the Government's national housing agency, Communities Scotland, towards the costs of building homes for rent or shared ownership. It is important to recognise that Housing Associations are the main providers of new and affordable housing opportunities for local people in housing need, whereas government policy has made it financially unattractive for councils to build new homes.

The Housing Associations providing various types of accommodation in the Aberdeenshire Council area are as follows:

Other Housing Options - Shared Ownership

Shared Ownership is a cross between renting and owning a house, where the occupier purchases a share (typically 25% or 50%) in the ownership of the property but pays a reduced rent on the remainder.

A number of local housing associations provide the option to share ownership. The rent goes to the housing association and the mortgage contribution to the building society, bank or other lender. Shared ownership housing is aimed mainly at people who cannot afford to buy a house outright on the housing market, but are still keen and financially able to make a start on the home ownership ladder and invest some of their money in their property. The occupiers housing costs can vary according to the type of mortgage and the size of the ownership share, for example 25%, 50% or more. Shared ownership occupiers have the right to buy further 25% tranches of the equity up to and including 100%, which means that they then become the sole owners of the houses.

For further information contact the housing association owning the scheme.