Open market purchases

The councils open market purchase scheme aims to help increase the supply of council housing to help meet housing need across South Lanarkshire. It allows the council to consider the purchase of former council homes directly from the current owners as well as those that are placed onto the open market.

Criteria

To be eligible for consideration for the scheme, a property must have an up to date home report and align with one of the following categories:

• The purchase of a property would help increase supply and meet housing need in high pressure letting areas. Only properties of a size or type that will add to the supply and meet particular demands within an area will be considered.
• The purchase of a property is required to support the council’s area regeneration activity or provide a solution to long term empty property or blight within a Council estate. Acquisition of a property/properties in a housing regeneration area or which allows the council to tackle a particular blight issue.
• The purchase of the property would make the council the majority owner in a block and may help facilitate future planned maintenance or improvement work required to achieve Scottish Housing Quality Standards or Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing. This can be applied to any property type to allow for purchase of single or multiple units to achieve majority share ownership. The property must be of a size/type that meets housing need.
• The purchase of a property would address an urgent and specific applicant housing need promptly and more cost effectively than adapting and converting an existing council house. Acquisition or property on the open market can be considered where it provides the most effective and appropriate solution to meeting a specific housing need that is not available within the council’s existing stock.

The council can also consider purchasing empty properties that have been empty for more than 12 months as determined by Council Tax records. More information on this and wider support available for owners of empty properties can be viewed at the Empty Homes page.

Benefits

There are a number of benefits to selling your home directly to the council, including:

• No estate agent fees
• No obligation to accept any offer we make for your property
• No chain to consider
• No viewings to arrange

If you are interested in selling your property to the council, please contact us at landandproperty@southlanarkshire.gov.uk.