Agenda item

Report of the Assistant Director – Housing and Revenues

The Assistant Director Housing and Revenue submitted a report (previously circulated) requesting that consideration be given to the draft Housing Services Low Cost Home Ownership Policy (also previously circulated) prior to its consideration by Cabinet on 7 March 2023.

The submitted report stated that Housing Services were committed to building sustainable communities and offering low-cost homes both to rent and buy; the Housing Services Low Cost Home Ownership Policy outlines the range of home ownership options available for Council properties; and the policy covers Right to Buy, Rent to Buy and Shared Ownership options for residents who would like to own their own home but are unable to afford to purchase a property outright from the open market.

It was reported that one of the 7 key expectations for social housing tenants in the Government’s Social Housing White Paper, “Charter for Social Housing Residents’’ was “to be supported to take your first step to ownership”; the charter introduced a new Right to Shared Ownership and aimed to ensure that 50 per cent of new homes delivered by the Affordable Homes Programme, and supported by grants through Homes England, would be for affordable home ownership. Members noted that 20 of the 150 new homes on the Neasham Road new build development would be offered as rent to buy.

Members were informed that the Tenants Panel were consulted in November 2022 and overall, the Panel supported the proposed Housing Services Low Cost Home Ownership Policy.

Following a question, Members were informed that shared ownership rent payments received by the Council were reinvested into the building of new social housing.

RESOLVED – That Members support the onward submission of the draft Housing Services Low Cost Home Ownership Policy to Cabinet.