Housing and Loan Fund

The Church of Scotland Housing and Loan Fund can help provide housing accommodation for retired ministers as well as widows or widowers and bereaved civil partners of ministers.

The Trustees will also consider providing assistance to:

  • Spouses and civil partners of ministers who are forced to leave the manse due to relationship breakdown.
  • Those who have managed to house themselves, but are seeking to move to more suitable accommodation.
  • Those who might wish to investigate replacing a mortgage obtained earlier in their ministry with a loan from the Fund.

The trustees may grant tenancy of one of their existing houses or they may agree to purchase for rental occupation an appropriate house of an applicant's choosing. Leases are available in Scotland only and on advantageous rental terms.

Alternatively, the trustees may grant a housing loan of up to 70 per cent of a house purchase price but with an upper ceiling. Bridging loans are available in limited circumstances. Favourable rates of interest are charged.

Please note that the Fund can be of assistance beyond the point of retiral too.

After retiral, those who find that their circumstances have changed and would like to be considered for assistance for the first time or for further assistance from the Fund should speak to the Secretary to explore matters.

Please see the Guidance Notes below for eligibility and details.

The application process

Ministers having an application approved within five years of retirement will be given a commitment that either a house will be made available for renting or a house purchase loan will be offered. This will be subject to review within a year of retirement. Only within a few months of a minister's intended retiral date will the trustees initiate steps to find a suitable house and only within one year of that date will a loan be advanced.

It is helpful to have initial applications submitted up to 10 years prior to retirement when a minister may be given, without any commitment, a place on the preliminary application list.

Those who have not already been in touch but find themselves in imminent need of assistance should simply speak to the Secretary and applications will be dealt with at the earliest opportunity.

Enquiries and applications are dealt with in the strictest confidence.

Donations and legacies over the years have been significant in building up this Housing and Loan Fund and the backbone was provided by congregational contributions.

Application form

Please download and complete the form below and send it in to Hazel Bett, The Secretary, Housing and Loan Fund, The Church of Scotland, 121 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 4YN. If sending by post, please mark the envelope Private and Confidential

Should you have any further enquiries, please email Hazel Bett at hbett@churchofscotland.org.uk or call on 0131 240 3002 or 07929 418762.

Meet the team

  • Chair: Rev Dorothy U Anderson
  • Secretary: Hazel Bett
  • Property manager: Hilary Hardy
  • Project manager: Mark Learmonth
  • Property assistant: Selena MacArthur

Trustee

The Housing and Loan Fund is seeking a new Trustee to be appointed by the 2023 General Assembly. More information and an application form are available on our Trusteeships, Committee Memberships and Other Volunteer Positions within the Church page.