Frequently Asked Questions

It stands for Local Affordable Rent.

Lar is also Portuguese for “home” and Lares were the Roman gods of the household, so the name works on a few levels as an acronym.

Lar is a charity and is registered with the regulator OSCR. It is governed by independent Trustees, who have vast experience across various relevant professional and business sectors.

Lar’s initial funding came from a 25-year loan of £55 million from the Scottish Government. In addition, in July 2017, Lar secured £65 million of private funding in a deal arranged by the Bank of Scotland Commercial Real Estate through its partnership with Scottish Widows. This private finance has enabled Lar to boost its portfolio of mid-market properties across Scotland.

Please have a look at our available properties to see where our homes are and what is coming up.

If you want to apply for one of our homes please contact us at lettings@larhousingtrust.co.uk and we can discuss what is available and take you through the application process.

We have an extremely low void rate at under 1%, however, we are constantly building new homes to increase the number of affordable homes available in Scotland.

If you are interested in any of our current developments or in receiving information about new homes which we are building please keep an eye on our available properties.

Lar was established to provide an affordable housing option for people who are in work (or retired) on low to moderate incomes and who are spending a disproportionate amount of their monthly income on rent but who are also unlikely to be allocated a council home.

To find out if you are eligible please contact us via lettings@larhousingtrust.co.uk

Yes – a deposit equivalent to one month’s rent is payable and will be held in a recognised tenancy deposit scheme. An additional 50% deposit is also required where pets are present.

Our homes are let under a Private Residential Tenancy Agreement.

Provided the terms of the tenancy agreement are kept, you can stay in your Lar home as long as you like.

Lar Housing Trust is an independent charity set up in 2015, providing high-quality homes at mid-market rent levels in villages, towns, and cities across Scotland.

As a charity, we value the wider benefits that good quality, affordable homes will bring.

Lar is governed by a board of voluntary trustees led by Chairman Philip Rodney with the day-to-day operation of Lar being run by an executive team.

Our application process is quick and simple. If you meet the eligibility criteria, we will send out an application form to you by email to complete and return with your most recent 3 months’ proof of income and photographic ID.

Once we have received your completed application and supporting documents, we will run affordability and referencing checks and get in touch once this has been completed to update you on the outcome of your application.

Click here to enquire about applying or discuss any queries with us further.

All applicants have to meet our target tenant group which sets maximum household income levels for our properties.

Priority will then be given to people who:

• Have a social connection to the local area
• Are living in expensive private rented housing
• Lack of security in their current home
• Are on the waiting list for social housing

We discuss our priority groups with local authorities regularly and work with them to ensure that these groups meet the needs of the local area.

Lar Housing Trust is a private landlord and all new tenants will be issued with a Private Residential Tenancy Agreement.

Most of our properties allow pets.  If you do have a pet please discuss this at the time of application.

Generally, we will consider non-structural alterations to your home providing you have permission in writing beforehand from Lar, particularly if the changes are aesthetic.  Generally, any alterations should be put back to the original condition before moving out.

If you are applying for a new build property there will be a period for snagging before any alterations will be permitted.

Lar’s tenants have access to our dedicated 24-hour repairs line. We also have videos on our website demonstrating common repairs that tenants can try themselves.

More information on reporting a repair can be found here.

Not everyone is eligible for social housing Similarly not everyone can afford the cost of a privately rented property.

Mid-Market Rent is a form of affordable housing with rent charges set lower than those of other private rents but higher than social rents.