Housing Acquisition Strategy

1. Introduction

Background to the strategy

North Ayrshire Council’s Local Housing Strategy 2023 to 2028 commits to increasing the social housing supply by buying back former social housing stock and bringing empty homes back into use through buy backs. However, in line with the aim of the strategy, North Ayrshire Council will explore other viable solutions, particularly where properties in demand have not been built by North Ayrshire Council or other social housing providers. This will include purchasing homes from the open market, developers, and off-the-shelf purchases. To target acquisitions that will have the most effective impact, the council will take a comprehensive approach by comparing current need and demand to current supply and stock turnover.

For more information on the Local Housing Strategy 2023 to 2028, visit the Local Housing Strategy page on our website.

Affordable Housing Supply Programme

The Affordable Housing Supply Programme comprises a range of funding mechanisms to enable affordable housing providers to deliver homes for social rent, mid-market rent, and low-cost home ownership in communities across Scotland to support local authorities’ Local Housing Strategies.

The Affordable Housing Supply Programme can support the following types of purchase where there is a strategic housing need, as identified and agreed by the local authority:

• open market purchases with vacant possession
• off market purchases with vacant possession
• purchases where an owner occupier cannot afford the required maintenance or refurbishment of their home and wishes to sell and remain in the home as a tenant in the social rented sector
• 'off the shelf' purchases from developers
• properties from landlords leaving the private rented sector with a tenant in situ, where this meets a clear strategic purpose and where the tenant is at risk of homelessness

For more information on the guidance, visit the Acquisition Programme information page on the Scottish Government website.

Aim of the strategy

The aim of this strategy is to increase the availability of permanent homes to meet the affordable housing need and demand in North Ayrshire.

To be considered for acquisition, properties must support one or more of the objectives of the strategy and must meet one or more of the criteria of the strategy.

Objectives of the strategy

The objectives of this strategy are to:

• meet demand in the highest-need areas, as identified through the Housing Needs and Demand Assessment (HNDA) and ongoing demand analysis
• assist in delivering the Strategic Housing Investment Plan, which sets out the affordable housing investment priorities within North Ayrshire
• help achieve the strategic outcomes set out in the Local Housing Strategy:
  • more homes at the heart of great places
  • affordability and choice
  • affordable warmth and zero emissions
  • improving the quality of our homes
• identify opportunities to acquire properties on the open market or through speculative approaches from owners where this supports strategic housing need
• increase the number of long-term empty properties brought back into use through effective collaboration with the council's Private Sector Housing Advice team
• continue to assess any opportunities for acquisition that arise in suitable housing supply influenced through the impact of the application of the 100% premium in council tax for second homes, across the mainland and both island communities
• enhance block sustainability and support future maintenance by increasing council ownership in partially factored blocks through proactive engagement with private owners
• support the reduction of homelessness by ensuring, where appropriate, that acquired properties contribute to meeting the housing needs of households in temporary accommodation

Criteria and value for money

A property must meet specific requirements to demonstrate best value for money. Therefore, to be considered by North Ayrshire Council for acquisition, properties will form part of the overall social rented stock once purchases and must - in addition to being of property type or size with a recognised need or demand - meet one or more of the criteria below, in addition to any other criteria specified:

• ex-local authority stock, within North Ayrshire Council estates, which will facilitate effective and efficient housing management
• 'off the shelf' purchases from developers
• located in an area identified as having an affordable housing shortfall
• purchase price will be less than the development costs of building a comparable property (properties which cost more than this will be considered on a case-by-case basis, for example, if the property is highly adapted and meets the requirements of an applicant with an accessible housing need)
• long term empty properties, where the purchase would allow for greater local amenity and contribute to the council's statutory duties and strategic objectives
• the property will be able to achieve and be maintained to a standard acceptable to the council, for example, to the Scottish Housing Quality Standard (SHQS) and the Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing (EESSH2)/Social Housing Net Zero Standard (SHNZS)
• the purchase price is equal to, or a reduction of, the actual market value as assessed by the council's valuation report/home report valuation. This will not prevent higher cost projects from proceeding (including projects in regeneration areas, remote, rural and island areas, and those involving housing for people with particular needs).
• of traditional construction only (due to the legal and cost implications they could incur if otherwise)

Any decision to acquire a property is at the discretion of North Ayrshire Council and is subject to the availability of relevant funding. If purchased, properties will be improved to meet the Scottish Housing Quality Standard (SHQS) and the Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing (EESSH2)/Social Housing Net Zero Standard (SHNZS).

2. Acquisition Programmes

Four acquisition programmes are currently being utilised in North Ayrshire.

Strategic Housing Investment Plan

The Strategic Housing Investment Programme 2026 to 2031 (SHIP) includes provision for 65 council acquisitions between April 2024 and March 2031, as well as 37 acquisitions by developing Registered Social Landlord (RSL) partners, subject to the availability of grant funding. Both North Ayrshire Council's and RSLs' acquisition programmes aim to increase affordable housing in the area, as well as contribute to wider regeneration and estate management.

For more information, the council's Strategic Housing Investment Programme 2026 to 2031 can be found online.

Empty homes and second homes

As at 1 April 2026, there are 582 empty homes subject to the Council Tax levy in North Ayrshire. Additionally, there are approximately 1,300 second homes in North Ayrshire, the majority of which are located on the islands of Arran and Cumbrae. The SHIP 2026 to 2031 makes provision for empty and second home buy backs, with the council's Private Sector Advice team providing advice and assistance on empty homes.

Further information on the council's Private Sector Advice team can be found on the Private Sector Advice Service page of our website.

Bringing former social housing stock into ownership can assist with housing management, maintenance issues, and increase housing available through the North Ayrshire Housing Register. Over the past five financial years, the council has acquired five empty homes, using funding from the Affordable Housing Supply Programme, which have been brought back into use as council stock.

A compulsory purchase order (CPO) can be made when we need to acquire land for purposes that are in the public interest, where we cannot reach an agreement to acquire the land, or the owner cannot be traced. A CPO may be used to bring empty homes back into use or to regenerate an area. When we make a CPO, we must apply to the Scottish Government for confirmation of the order.

Further information on CPOs in North Ayrshire can be found on the Compulsory purchase orders page of our website.

Adaptations

North Ayrshire Council may purchase properties for the use of specific applicant needs where no suitable council or RSL property exists and where the cost of purchasing the property would be more cost effective than making adaptations and alterations to existing stock. Properties should be purchased with vacant possession.

North Ayrshire Council may consider purchasing private rented or owner-occupied properties where the tenancy or ownership is at risk, and the property has been substantially adapted in a major, permanent way to meet the needs of the tenant or household. The tenant or owner should have a live North Ayrshire Housing Register application and there should be no suitable council or RSL property which meets the needs of the applicant (including consideration of the costs of adapting existing stock).

Off the shelf

'Off-the-shelf' (OTS) property acquisitions in social housing refer to the purchase of already completed new build/or proposed, or newly refurbished properties from a developer or private owner, ready for immediate occupation by social housing tenants.

This approach is a strategic tool used by councils and housing associations, and, in the right circumstances, can:

• rapidly increase the supply of social homes and meet urgent local housing needs, including reducing the use of costly temporary accommodation
• offer value for money compared to other housing delivery options

Key considerations for OTS property acquisitions include:

• development availability and timing
• location compared to where our need and demand assessments have identified
• house type and layout compared to our needs within that location
• specification the developer will build to
• cost per unit
• future maintenance and estate management requirements

This is a new area under active consideration by officers to identify any viable opportunities within North Ayrshire.

Property identification

There are a number of ways the council identified a pipeline of opportunities. This includes but is not limited to:

• officers regularly review properties that are for sale on the open market and have established relationships with local estate agents who identify potential opportunities
• direct contact has been made by owners interested in selling their properties to the council (through the implementation of this strategy, a new process will be developed to make it easier for owners to provide their property information)
• the Private Sector Advice team identify empty homes that meet the council's criteria for acquisition and will actively contact owners to discuss their interest in bringing their property back into use via the council and/or RSL purchasing the property
• properties are identified by the Factoring team where a block can be brought back into full council ownership

Rural Affordable Homes for Key Workers

The Rural Affordable Homes for Key Workers Fund provides up to £25 million nationally through to 2028 to help local authorities identify affordable homes for key workers in rural communities. This funding is made available from the Affordable Housing Supply Programme and therefore is only accessible to local authorities and RSLs. The fund focuses on making available underused or empty properties for key workers and others in need.

Much of North Ayrshire is classified as Accessible-Rural under the Scottish Government's Urban Rural 6-fold Classification, with the islands of Arran and Cumbrae classified as Remote Rural. Key workers can include public sector and emergency service workers; however, the definition of a key worker will be determined on an individual basis by local authorities according to their local priorities. In North Ayrshire, the Arran Local Lettings Initiative provides an example of a definition of key workers, taking a tiered approach.

For more information, please see the Housing Allocation Policy.

Guidance provided by the Scottish Government on the Rural Affordable Homes for Key Workers Fund outlines that local authorities and RSLs can use the fund to purchase existing suitable properties in rural areas, which can be rented directly or leased to employers to provide affordable homes for key workers. This can include:

• bringing empty properties back into use, or
• acquiring properties on the open market to increase the available supply of affordable homes for key workers

In line with the Scottish Government's guidance, North Ayrshire Council will engage with a range of organisations to develop proposals for use of the fund for consideration by the More Homes Division, including:

• public sector employees
• key agencies, including Highlands and Islands Enterprise
• local businesses, and
• Registered Social Landlords

For more information, the guidance on the approach can be found on the Scottish Government website.

Properties acquired using the Rural Affordable Homes for Key Workers Fund are acquired in addition to the properties outlined for acquisition in the SHIP 2026 to 2031. From 2023 to 2024, seven properties were acquired on Arran by Trust Housing Association using this funding stream. The SHIP 2026 to 2031 highlights that there are no current projects being considered for the Rural Affordable Homes for Key Workers in North Ayrshire beyond acquisitions being progressed by Trust Housing Association. The Arran Housing Task Force will continue to work collaboratively to identify and discuss potential opportunities to further use the fund to provide affordable housing for key workers in rural areas, where appropriate.

Estate Based Regeneration Programme

In January 2019, the council's 10-year £10million Estate Based Regeneration Programme (EBRP) was approved. The aim of the EBRP is to improve council-owned housing estates across North Ayrshire by addressing low demand stock, antisocial behaviour, external appearance, parking provision, road and footpath condition, fencing, landscaping, and general grounds maintenance issues. The Regeneration team will acquire properties identified in the EBRP for the purposes of:

• demolition
• refurbishment
• purchasing four-in-a-block flats where this would result in the council's majority ownership in the block

The SHIP 2026 to 2031 includes for the provision of funding for 249 units to assist the delivery of Housing's Estate Based Regeneration Programme. This investment programme aims to provide new homes to replace any stock which requires to be demolished or reconfigured as part of the EBRP. As of 1 April 2026, a total of 17 properties have been acquired under the EBRP across North Ayrshire in the areas of Ardrossan, Stevenston, Saltcoats, Irvine and Kilwinning.

Void and Acquisition Fund

The Homelessness Prevention and Strategy Group, co-chaired by Scottish Ministers and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA), established the Temporary Accommodation Tak and Finish Group to advise on the short-term measures needed to address the increasing use of temporary accommodation. Thereafter, the Scottish Government agreed to invest at least £60million through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) in 2023 to 2024 to support a National Acquisition Programme.

Building on that National Acquisition Programme, the Scottish Government announced in April 2024 that £80million would be added to the Affordable Housing Supply Programme over 2024 to 2025 (£40million) and 2025 to 2026 (£40million). Resultantly, in September 2024, the Scottish Government increased North Ayrshire Council's 2024 to 2025 Resource Planning Assumption. This uplift was to be directed towards:

• acquisitions to help address temporary accommodation pressures, or
• to bring long term voids back into use

Acquisitions were to be existing properties or new build properties off the shelf but were required to be a permanent structure and available in perpetuity. In line with the guidance, any homes purchased using this funding were allocated in line with the legal framework for allocations and in accordance with North Ayrshire Council's Allocation Policy. In September 2025, the Scottish Government published its Housing Emergency Action Plan, which led to funding for the targeted voids and acquisition fund increasing further. In 2024 to 2025, one property was bought using this fund and in 2025 to 2026, four properties were bought using this fund.

For more information, visit the Scottish Government website.

There is no specific funding for acquisitions announced for 2026 to 2027 and beyond; this recognises Scottish Government's commitment to providing flexibility to local authorities to determine their appropriate priorities between new builds and second-hand acquisitions. If any such fund becomes available, North Ayrshire Council will engage with the Scottish Government and stakeholders to make the most effective use of of any funding that may become available for North Ayrshire.

3. Further information

Budget

The Senior Manager (Housing Strategy and Development) is responsible for the Housing Revenue Account Capital Budget to finance the purchase of private properties. The Team Manager (Affordable Housing and Regeneration) will maintain a budget monitor for each funding stream.

Resources

This strategy will be supported and implemented by staff from Housing Services, Building Services, Property Management and Investment, Legal Services, and Finance.

Equal opportunities

The provision of new social housing, including through housing acquisitions, will have a positive impact on those who require specialist accommodation, older people, those who are homeless, or at risk of homelessness, and those for whom purchasing a home is not an affordable option. The benefits of new build housing in relation to health, wellbeing, and educational attainment are well documented. New housing will also support our island communities and their economies. A reduction in new build completions will have a negative impact on these groups.

Review

This strategy will be reviewed on an annual basis in line with the Strategic Housing Investment Plan, or on such a basis as is required to ensure the accuracy of all criteria and funding information.

Comments and views about any aspect of this document are welcomed. We also take the opportunity to encourage local people to become involved in the planning and delivery of housing solutions.

To get in touch, pleasec contact:

• Local Housing Strategy North Ayrshire Council Housing and Public Protection FREEPOST SCO2742 Irvine KA12 8BRT
• email: developmentandstrategy@north-ayrshire.gov.uk

This document is available in other formats such as audio tape, CD, braille, large print, and other languages on request.