Croft House Grant Scheme (CHGS)
The Croft House Grant Scheme (CHGS) replaced the Crofters Building Grants and Loans Scheme (CBGLS) in January 2005. Its purpose is to improve and maintain the standards of crofter housing for crofting tenants.
There are grant rates for building a New House and a Rebuilding and Improvement Grant. For a new house you will have to show that your existing accommodation is inadequate in some way and that a new house will enable you to work the croft. For rebuilding and house improvements, your croft house must be in need of upgrading/renovation, or require to be altered/extended to meet the needs of your household.
CHGS is geographically targeted. Grant levels are determined by priority areas with the highest grant being available in the more remote and fragile communities.
Grant rates for a new house Geographic Priority Area: High - £22,000 Standard - £17,000 Low - £11,500 |
Rebuilding and Improvement Grant Geographic Priority Area: High - 40% of costs up to a maximum grant of £22,000 Standard - 30% of costs up to a maximum grant of £17,000 Low - 20% of costs up to a maximum grant of £11,500 |
Rebuilding and Improvement Grants are subject to a minimum project cost threshold of £10,000
Islands off Mainland Shetland and Northmavine are included as High Priority areas, and the rest of Shetland is included as Standard Priority.
To be eligible to apply for a CHGS:
You must be one of the following:
- a crofting tenant;
- an owner occupier of a croft, which was acquired from the landlord within the last 7 years
- a cottar
And you must be inadequately housed because:
-
your present accommodation does not provide sufficient accommodation for you and your immediate family
or -
your present accommodation does not meet an adequate standard;
or -
you currently live with parents, are at least 21 years old, and can show you have worked the croft for at least 2 years.
Or in need of a house on the croft because:
- you currently live more than 10 miles away; or
- the type of agricultural activities requires your constant presence on the croft;
or - the needs of an existing business, require you to live on the croft; or
- you currently live in a council house (or other tenancy).
To apply for the CHGS, please contact:
Scottish Government Rural Payments and Inspections Directorate Telephone: 0300 244 9599
|