There has been a 50% rise in the number of people wanting to buy their council house in the past year, new figures have revealed.
Statistics published by the Scottish Government showed 972 applications were made to local authorities to buy homes in the third quarter of last year, up from 646 for the same period in 2012.
The rise comes at the same time as Housing Minister Margaret Burgess conceded building in the private sector "remains flat". The Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) said it was "not surprised" there had been a spike in right to buy applications, as the Scottish Government had announced plans to end the entitlement.
The SFHA is now calling for ministers to reduce the time available for people to use the policy to buy their home, saying this should be limited to one year after the legislation gets Royal Assent instead of the three-year notice period proposed. Policy manager Andy Young said: "The SFHA is not surprised to see a spike in right to buy sales. The Housing (Scotland) Bill 2013, which is currently at Stage 1 of its passage through the Scottish Parliament, is proposing to end right to buy entitlements in Scotland in three years' time and a rush to exercise that right does normally happen soon after the announcement of a policy to impose restrictions.
"We would urge the Scottish Government to reduce the threeyear notice period proposed in the Bill and set the date of right to buy abolition at one year from date of Royal Assent. This will strike a fair balance between giving reasonable notice to those wishing to exercise their right, and protecting the scarce resource that is Scotland's social housing stock."
Housebuilding statistics also showed work began on 2802 properties in the third quarter of 2013 - down from 3510 in the previous three months but up from the total of 2394 from 12 months ago. The number of new homes that were completed between July and September was 3741 - up from 3349 the previous quarter and also up on the same period in 2012, when it was 3111.
In the private sector, building work started on 2375 homes in the third quarter of last year, down from 2643 the previous three months but up from the third quarter of 2012, when the total was 2093.
More council and housing association properties were started, with work getting under way on 797 new social homes in the fourth quarter of last year, up from 427 in the previous quarter and higher than the total of 625 in the last three months of 2012.
The figures, from the Scottish Government, also showed an increase in homes completed through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme, which includes properties for sale and rent. A total of 7189 such homes were completed in 2013, with ministers confident they are on track to deliver 30,000 by 2016.
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