Labour will top up the savings of first-time home buyers in an early election sweetener for young people in Scotland.
Leader Kezia Dugdale will deliver Scottish Labour’s first manifesto pledge for 2016 with a plan to “effectively double” the amount of state cash handed to those vying to get on the housing ladder.
The scheme, which would cost Scotland £103 million a year and piggy-backs Chancellor George Osborne’s existing Help to Buy ISA, would be paid for by not implementing the SNP’s air passenger duty (APD) relief, the party says.
The UK-wide version, which came into force last month, pays a 25% bonus on savings towards the cost of a deposit on a first home up to a maximum of £3,000 per person. Scottish Labour say they will add an extra £3,000 for Scots as part of the three-year savings scheme, if elected in May.
It means a couple each saving £100 a month would be able to build up a £15,000 deposit for their first home within three years, the party says.
Ms Dugdale will unveil the policy in Edinburgh today in a direct appeal to aspirational young voters. She is to say it represents “not just a break from austerity for my generation, but a boost for aspiration”.
When unveiled by Mr Osborne, the Help to Buy ISA attracted criticism for risking fuelling house price rises that will put home ownership further out of the grasp of future generations.
And there was concern that such a scheme focuses on demand when the priority is increasing housing supply.
A Labour spokesman said in a press briefing yesterday they have spoken to industry sources and found “there is not a strong consensus” the policy would be inflationary.
He added the party wants to build 12,000 more affordable homes for rent and purchase than the SNP plan to.
The SNP’s Alex Neil said they have helped first-time buyers through easing the tax burden and shared equity schemes.
APD relief, which is due to start in 2018, will initially cost the public purse £125 million a year, although the SNP says it will more than pay for itself in the boost to the economy.
Meanwhile, a Tayside estate agent has warned that 1.2 million homeowners in Scotland have a £1 billion bill hanging over them.
Householders face having to pay more than £700 each to meet Land Register demands, even when transferring the property to family members or remortgaging to release cash, says Miller Hendry.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said a completed Land Register will be a “national asset”, which is a “significant step towards improving the transparency of landownership in Scotland”.