The Rural Housing Burden is just one tool to help ensure affordable housing in Scotland. It's a title condition which protects affordable housing stock for local communities in perpetuity, where the property owner has full legal title. Allocation policies prioritise people with a need to live or work in an area, so housing stock is protected for local communities forever. 
We have extensive experience of selling both new build and older housing with a Rural Housing Burden attached to the title and also of working directly with high street lenders, and their trade body the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).

The Rural Housing Burden comprises two main elements:
  • The percentage discount offers a discount to the purchaser from the open market value.
  • The right of pre-emption means that CHT has the option to buy back the property when the owner decides to sell their home. This then allows CHT to sell the property to another purchaser in the local community, and a discount will be applied to the market value for any future sales.

​Further conditions state that the property must be used as a primary residence, and not let, to keep communities thriving.  

As a Rural Housing Body, we can attach the Rural Housing Burden on behalf of individuals as well as communities, and onto existing properties as well as new builds.

​For more information, download the factsheet below:
A selection of locations and homes we've applied the Rural Housing Burden to, from Aultbea to Skye to the Cairngorms.