Perth & Kinross Council has said that their innovative scheme to buy back former Council homes for affordable rent is "on track to beat its target for this year".

The Council is committed to increasing the supply of affordable housing across the Perth and Kinross council area. The Buy Back Scheme supports this commitment by supplying more homes for people in Perth and Kinross of the type and size that they need, and in the areas where they want to live.

For the year 2021/22 we are on course to complete 32 buy back purchases, against our target of 30. This will bring the total number of buy backs completed to 259 since the scheme was introduced in 2012.

Purchases have been completed in the last 12 months right across the area, including in Kinross, Luncarty, Auchterarder, Crieff, Bridge of Earn, Coupar Angus, Methven, Pitlochry, Rattray, Scone and Perth.

Properties purchased through the Buy Back Scheme are typically allocated to existing council or housing association tenants who are living in overcrowded accommodation, under-occupying their home, or who require a specific type of property to meet a medical need. Where a buy back is offered to an existing tenant we free up another property and create a vacancy chain. This means we can meet the accommodation needs of multiple households through a single purchase.

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Housing and Communities Convener, Councillor Bob Brawn, explained: "The Buy Back Scheme is just one of the ways that Perth & Kinross Council increasing its supply of affordable housing in the area. Over the last five years, a total of 246 new homes were added to the Council's stock through new builds, buying back ex-council homes and bringing empty properties back into use as housing.

"I am delighted that we are on track to beat our buy back target for the year. Buy backs are increasingly important as part of our strategy to increase our stock of affordable housing. We also have a large number of enquiries about buy backs that we will consider during the coming year, which is great news."

To be eligible for the Buy Back Scheme, a property must be located within the Perth & Kinross council area and it must have previously been in council ownership. Buy backs are typically ex-council houses or flats that were formerly sold under the Right to Buy scheme which operated in Scotland between 1980 and 2016.

We are particularly interested in:

• Larger properties, such as those with three or four bedrooms, which would allow us to create a vacancy chain.

• Properties that are well-suited to or have been adapted to support people with medical or accessibility needs, such as bungalows, ground floor flats, flats with lift access, and properties with mobility adaptations such as wet rooms.

• Flats that would give the Council majority or complete ownership of a block, as this can simplify the process of organising repairs or improvements to shared elements of the block, such as the roof or common close.