Swinney to pledge end to ‘rent trap’ with £10,000 first time deposit support
SNP members will meet for the last time ahead of the election on Saturday.
John Swinney has pledged to break young people out of the “rent trap” with up to £10,000 support for a deposit on a first home.
Speaking ahead of his party’s final conference before May’s election, the First Minister announced he would create a £100 million First Homes Fund if the SNP are re-elected.
It would continue the work of a pilot programme which funded deposits for more than 10,000 homes between 2019 and 2022, with 50,000 households hoped to benefit by the end of the next parliamentary session.
“Everyone dreams of buying their first home – but for too many people, particularly young people, it has had to stay a dream as the reality of Westminster’s cost-of-living crisis means saving up for a deposit is just too hard,” the First Minister said.
“Too many young people are stuck paying more in rent than they would on a mortgage.
“With electricity, food prices and just about every other bill going up and up, there just is not enough left at the end of the month to save up a deposit.
“It is a trap, leaving them locked out of home ownership, often well into their thirties.
“What that means is the Westminster cost-of-living crisis is not just hammering people day to day. It is robbing them of their long-term future.”
He added the Government will “step up” for those who “cannot rely on the bank of mum and dad to support them”.
“This generation of young people has been let down terribly by the Westminster status quo,” he added.
“After the financial crash, austerity, Brexit and the cost-of-living crisis, they know more than anyone that the Westminster model is robbing them of their future.
“But it does not have to be this way. If re-elected we will help break young people out of the rent trap.
“And, with independence we can break Scotland out of the trap of the failed Westminster system, and bring hope for all our futures back.”
Scottish Labour housing spokesperson Mark Griffin said: “We have had years of warm words from SNP ministers on housing, but all we get are empty promises from John Swinney and his party.
“Frankly, he should hang his head in shame about his government’s record over the last two decades.
“The declaration of a national housing emergency in 2024 should have been a call to action, but instead, the SNP has reduced this landmark moment to a cheap gimmick by failing to step up.
“They have allowed housebuilding to plummet, while raiding billions from overstretched local authorities who are on the front line of this crisis.
“It is clear that this tired SNP government is out of ideas and is incapable of tackling the housing emergency.”
