Affordable housing

You can access an affordable home in one of two ways, either by buying a home or by renting a home.

Buying a home

There are four main options if you are looking to buy an affordable home, each is detailed below and how to apply.  Buying a home is a big commitment and you should be sure that it is the correct product for you.  If you are in doubt, you should take your own legal advice as we can not advise you on your circumstances.

Discount Market Sale

These are properties where the Developer sells a unit with an agreed percentage reduction on the Open Market Value.  The percentage discount is passed on during every sale and there are criteria around local connection and income that have to be met by the purchaser.  These properties shouldn't be rented out as they are aimed at giving local people the chance to get on the housing ladder. 

The criteria to purchase differ for each site, however broadly to qualify you would need to not own another residential property either in the UK or abroad and be buying the next property to live in it.  You can have owned a property previously or be in the process of selling one you live in, for example to downsize, however the sale must be completed as you purchase the Discount Market Sale property.  Your household would need to earn less than £80k per year and have a local connection to the area. 

How to apply

If you are buying the property brand new from the Developer you would complete an application form with them for us to confirm that you are eligible to purchase.  Some evidence would be required to be sent with the application.  If you are buying it preowned you would need to complete the application through the estate agent who is selling the property.

Selling your Discount Market Sale home

Once you decide to sell your home you should contact us immediately as you will need us to confirm you have complied with the resale requirements.  You will need to tell us of your intent to sell and this can be done via email telling us this with your address.  We also would need to agree the maximum sales price of your property to make sure that the discount has been applied, which will need an independent valuation.  Please contact us and we can advise you through the process.

First Homes

First Homes are a discounted product similar to Discount Market Sale but can only be sold to people who have never owned a property before.  These properties are discounted to 30% and on first sale are subject to a maximum price cap.  Some First Homes are also restricted to Key Workers.  As this is a national product there is a guide to this product at Gov.uk: First Homes scheme: first-time buyer's guide.  In some circumstances these products may be rented with the permission of the council.

How to apply

If you are buying the property brand new from the Developer you would complete an application form with them for us to confirm that you are eligible to purchase.  Some evidence would be required to be sent with the application.  If you are buying it preowned you would need to complete the application through the estate agent who is selling the property.

Selling a First Home

Once you decide to sell your home you should contact us immediately as you will need us to confirm you have complied with the resale requirements.  You will need to tell us of your intent to sell and this can be done via email telling us this with your address we will then advise you through the process.  You will require a RICS valuation of your property, you can find a local RICS surveyor at RICS: find a surveyor.

Renting out a First Home

First Homes are not intended to be rented out, however it is recognised that there may be some circumstances where you need to leave your property for a period of time and want to rent it. If you own a First Home this is possible, but you would need permission from your mortgage provider and the council.  Further details are at Gov.uk: First Homes scheme: letting the property.

We would require the property is rented at a professional standard, although accreditation is not mandatory we would recommend that you contact our Private Sector Housing team for advice. See for The Durham Rental Standard Scheme (DRS) details.

Shared Ownership

Theses properties are where you buy a part of a house and a Housing Association owns the rest.  You would pay a mortgage as well as rent to the Housing Association.  The purpose is to allow you to buy a home with a smaller deposit as your mortgage would be less.  The Housing Association can have restrictions on who they will sell to and resales are done via them. To apply for these properties you would need to contact a Housing Association to see what they have available. A list of Housing Associations who operate in County Durham can be found at Housing associations.

Rent -to-Buy

This is a recent product which is operated by Housing Associations.  You would rent the house from a Housing Association at an affordable rent (a maximum of 80% of market rents) to give you the chance to save a deposit.  After a set number of years you are given the option to either purchase the house at Open Market Value using your saved deposit, pay market rent or move.  Some Housing Associations do offer the option to convert to a Shared Ownership product if you are not able to afford the purchase price when your fixed term is at an end.

Renting an affordable home

This can be either through Durham Key Options or directly to the RP. Our apply for housing page provides more information about how to apply to rent affordable housing.