More than £6 million in loans have been committed to self-builders across Scotland to date since it was established in 2018.

The Scottish Self Build Loan Fund was introduced by the Scottish Government to support self-builders who are unable to obtain mainstream self-build mortgage finance, for example people in rural areas, or older people looking to downsize.

The original £4 million Fund was given an additional boost of £2 million in March 2021, to help meet demand.

£6 million has now been committed to 40 families and individuals in 13 Local Authority areas, to provide homes which wouldn't otherwise have been possible. The loans are repaid when the homes have been completed by acquiring a standard residential mortgage, or the sale of the existing home.

The 40th loan was offered to schoolteacher Kirsten Hay in Shetland, who had struggled to progress their self-build project for 20 years.

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She said: "We originally had an old croft house on the site that we intended to renovate 20 years ago. My partner was going to do most of the work himself but unfortunately due to a car accident not long after, was left disabled and wheelchair bound.

"We then tried to restart our project with a completely new build and managed to get to foundation stage using our own funding. We secured a self-build mortgage but it only covered so much of the build, and partly due to my age, but also due to Covid and the rising cost of materials it meant we could not realistically afford to carry on through that route.

"We are so grateful that thanks to the Self Build Loan Fund we can now create a better living environment in a home that fully meets our needs, as well as create a better quality of life for my partner."

The Loan Fund is administered on behalf of the Scottish Government by the Communities Housing Trust, an Inverness-based charity working closely with communities to provide affordable homes and much-needed amenities.

Loans which have already been repaid are being 'recycled' to finance additional builds, allowing even more people to build their own homes.

Homes are now complete or under construction in 13 Local Authority areas: Aberdeenshire, Argyll & Bute, East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire, Falkirk, Highland, South Lanarkshire, Orkney, Perth & Kinross, Scottish Borders, Shetland, Stirling, and the Western Isles.

The Fund remains open to applications until 31 August 2022, with loans to be repaid by August 2023.