Croft House Grant – Supported by the Scottish Government
Did you know there is a Scottish Government scheme providing grants for crofters to improve and maintain the standards of crofter housing, with the aim of attracting and retaining people within the crofting areas of Scotland?
And depending on the location, these grants can be up to a maximum of £38,000.
Most mortgage lenders will not typically offer mortgages for properties which are in crofting tenure. The Funding may be used for major repairs, internal improvements and rebuilding works.
The Wee House Company can help with your crofting project, since we are able to comply to and deal with the following essential criteria:
- new croft houses may be timber framed
- new croft houses must be dwelling houses which are fully compliant with the Scottish Building Standards
- an eligible croft house can be built on land adjoining or adjacent to the croft provided the applicant can demonstrate that this would be more feasible than building on the croft (applicants must be able to provide evidence of ownership of the site at this stage of application)
- maximum eligible floor areas as there is a proposed limit on overall cost of a house (floor area limits are significantly above National Standards and average floor areas contained in National Statistics for house sizes)
| House type | 2 bed single storey | 3 bed single storey | 4 bed single storey | 5 bed single storey |
| Maximum eligible floor area (m2) | 112 | 138 | 164 | 191 |
Note: certain areas may be excluded when calculating eligible floor area – see Scottish Government website for more details.
Additional Information
The following rooms would be considered to be standard accommodation:-
- One kitchen/dining room
- One utility room
- One porch/vestibule
- One lounge
- A bathroom, a separate WC/shower room and an en-suite (no more than three sanitary facilities)
- Bedrooms (between two and five, other bedrooms numbers will be considered depending on the individual circumstances)
NOTE: Separate dining rooms, family rooms and a study/office would be considered additional accommodation.
New houses with other room configurations and open plan layouts may also still be eligible for CHG funding, provided the overall floor area does not exceed the maximum eligible floor areas in the table above. New house plans which include the creation of separate living compartments within a house are not eligible. In addition, all bedrooms in a new house must be accessed from an internal hallway.
- Plans require to be submitted showing the proposed floor layout and room sizes at the time of the application for CHG funding. Plans must provide sufficient detail for a floor area calculation by the Rural Payments and Inspections Division.
- Eligible croft houses should normally have at least four apartments (three bedrooms and one living area) in additional to the kitchen and bathroom. However, small houses will be considered depending on an individual’s circumstances.
- Ineligible works include second or holiday homes.
Useful Links
Croft House Grant (ruralpayments.org)
Croft House | Crofting Commission (scotland.gov.uk)
Croft House Grant full guidance (ruralpayments.org)