The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Albyn buys 21 Inverness flats
Purchase for £2.3m from private landlord is for mid-market rents
The Highlands’ largest housing association has bought 21 flats from a private landlord in Inverness in amoveaimedatmeeting “huge demand for midmarket rental properties”.
Invergordon-based Albyn Housing Society completed the £2.3million deal for the one and two-bedroom homes in the Castle Heather area yesterday.
With a number of landlords quitting the private rented sector following new legislation on tenancies passed by the Scottish Government last year, Albyn is looking to increase its portfolio of properties in the coming months.
Its new homes will be managed byHighland Residential, a company set up recently by the housing association to tackle “a real shortage of affordable homes in the Highlands.”
The business is part of the housing association’s wholly-owned trading subsidiary, Albyn Enterprises.
Yesterday’s acquisition, from an un-named seller, brought the number of properties on the newcompany’s books in Inverness and other parts of the region to more than 60. The portfolio is expected to increase to more than 80 by July.
Albyn said the accommodation was intended for people on low-to-moderate incomes, offering an alternative for those who cannot afford to buy and are struggling to afford a private tenancy.
Mid-market rent is set below normal private sector levels, but is higher than a tenant would normally expect to pay for social housing.
Albyn chief executive Calum Macaulay said the initiative was the first of its kind by a housing association in the Highlands.
He added: “We know that there are hundreds of householders in and around Inverness interested in this part of the housing market.
“The demand and the needis thereandweareanticipating a great deal of interest in this.
“With the changing legislation around the private rented sector, it is likely to be the case that it is no longer an attractive proposition for some landlords.”