We’re seeking to deliver home ownership for many, many more people, especially those who are on low to middle incomes. A great proportion of our tenants are key workers – working in the NHS, or as teachers, or our emergency services. We want to make their aspiration of owning a home a reality for through our innovative Rent|Save|Own affordable housing offer.
We’re proud or what we have achieved to date and to share the words of people that recognise our aspirations.
Julie Barnett, CEO Tamar Housing, May 2020
“It is very rewarding for Tamar, as a not-for-profit housing association, to be a Rentplus partner and support local families to move into good quality affordable rented, new homes knowing they will have an opportunity in the future to buy their property with the help of a gifted deposit.”
Judges for the 2019 National Housing Awards, naming Rentplus winner of the Most Innovative Home Ownership Solution: “It’s an innovative scheme with the potential to help a wide range of people who cannot currently access home ownership.”
Ester McVey MP, Minister of State for Housing at RESI 2019
“We’re going to look to expand …Rent to Buy, so people can rent knowing that they are going to buy, knowing that they’ve got a bit of breathing space, maybe it’s in 5 years, maybe it’s in 10 years, but they will get to own that property – so they can plan, knowing they have the certainty of getting a deposit and getting that house.”
Kit Malthouse MP, ex-Minister of State for HousIng, July 2019
“The Government will be considering how it can continue to grow the supply of affordable housing across a range of tenures, including Rent to Buy.”
Kit Malthouse MP, ex-Minister of State for Housing
“The Government is taking a range of issues to help people meet the aspirations of owning their own home, including rent-to-buy. The Government is committed to rent-to-buy and increasing the supply of affordable homes so that low income families have the opportunity to buy or rent a good quality home.”
Sir Gary Streeter, Member of Parliament for South West Devon including Plympton, Ivybridge and Plymstock
“The sooner the Rentplus model is rolled out throughout the UK, the better for the coming generation”.
Andrea Jenkins MP
“One model that inspired me was a Rent to Buy scheme, where tenants save to buy the home they are renting. Unlike other schemes, it doesn’t require an upfront deposit but …. takes into account renters’ earnings and potential to save.” July 2019
James Palmer, Mayor of the Combined Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Authorities, November 2018
“Rentplus is a fantastic opportunity. I am really pleased it is happening here. I hope this is the first of many developments.”
Julie Barnett, Chief Executive of Tamar Housing
“Rentplus’ affordable rent-to-buy homes give local households, often languishing in the lower bands of need, the opportunity to access good quality affordable housing managed and maintained by a registered provider. Low income families often have very few housing options and Rentplus offers an unique Rent, Save, Own product that gives more security than private rented accommodation at an affordable rent and a chance to move into home ownership following an agreed period of renting. Our Rentplus properties are allocated via choice based lettings and homes have been let to local households from bands B to E with priority given to those in existing social housing thereby freeing up homes for those in higher need. New communities of mixed tenure developments are enhanced by the inclusion of Rentplus due to the positivity and hope value of the tenants.”
Cecilia Tredget, Managing Director, East of England LGA
“In the East of England, we have a growing economy, and a really significant need for quality new housing to support that growth. Rentplus offers local authorities a new and realistic way to provide affordable housing in support of working people, with a route into home ownership. I look forward to seeing it used to accelerate development on major sites, and to supporting our market towns by attracting and retaining young families into those communities.”
Duncan Harvey, Affordable Housing Policy and Development Manager – Sedgemoor District Council
“I am really excited about the Rentplus housing product. I think it offers a fresh, desirable and complementary affordable housing option for hardworking local people to find a home in a place they want to live, at a price they can realistically afford. Rentplus…will work alongside the delivery of the council’s traditional affordable housing supply, offering genuine additionality in supply. I believe that Rentplus provides a welcomed opportunity for lots of people who aspire to own their own home and, with support, can achieve home ownership rather than a life in expensive and insecure private-rented accommodation. Furthermore, it also provides a cost-effective alternative to shared ownership for households that do not have a deposit to purchase. We are confident that our relationship with Rentplus will prove successful as we work towards the delivery of 400+ new homes over the next few years.”
Paul Barnard, Asst Director for Strategic Planning & Infrastructure – Plymouth City Council
“We are pleased to be working with Rentplus to bring forward a new model of housing delivery aimed at supporting aspirant first time buyers as they struggle to find a home of their own. Rentplus is demonstrating its ability to secure ethical institutional funding into the provision of affordable housing. It has also adopted an exemplary approach to community engagement which is increasingly important as we work with local communities to make the case for new homes. Our Plan for Homes has the ambition to deliver 1,000 new homes a year for the next five years, accelerating housing supply by delivering a range and mix of well-designed greener homes to meet the city’s needs. Rentplus will complement our growth ambitions by creating 500 homes that people find attractive and affordable to live in.”
James Stacey, Director – Tetlow King Planning
“Pioneers in delivering innovative affordable rent to buy housing for aspiring home owners. Tetlow King Planning are proud to be assisting Rentplus in making affordable home ownership a reality for many people who don’t want to be caught in the spiral of renting in the unsecure private rented sector.”
David Carlisle, Principal Planner, Strategic Planning and Urban Design – AECOM
“Rentplus aligns well with national planning policies and guidance that seek to increase delivery of affordable housing (and growth in general), particularly paragraphs 47 and 50 of the NPPF. Rentplus cannot be defined as solely affordable rent or intermediate housing, as such a change to the NPPF definition would help to support new models such as this. LPAs preparing plans or making decisions on planning applications can integrate and support the provision of Rentplus affordable housing at their discretion, as many have done already (as have the HCA via a Short Form Agreement). Right to Buy, Help to Buy and Starter Home products require applicants to have a deposit or to have the means to get a deposit together. If someone is currently in social rented property or the private rented sector and can’t rely on a deposit from their parents, a viable solution for the ‘missing middle’ or ‘generation rent’ can be Rentplus. To help bring forward affordable products like this a step change in delivery is required capable of providing flexible tenures in response to changes in national policy.
Rentplus benefits from institutional investment and so is not reliant on subsidy or grant. Rentplus can be scaled up more quickly than traditional social housing delivered by LAs or RPs who are constrained by borrowing limits. The Rentplus village concept can provide affordable housing in the first or early phases or take on serviced sites and plots delivered directly with their own contractor partners. For products such as Rentplus to achieve the scalability desired changes are required to national policy and guidance to allow products such as this to help bring forward a step change in delivery, capable of filling and exceeding the gaps created by the proposed planning, housing and welfare reforms.
Rentplus is designed to be attractive to the private sector and acceptable to LAs and RPs. Rentplus’ funders like the fact that the products are let on a 20 year FRI lease as it means they are regulated within the social housing sector and administered by RPs. The future strategy is to form a national network of small RPs to share best practice. In instances where an RP is likely to lose much of its stock the Rentplus product can offer a solution to continue delivery of pipeline stock by directly working with the respective RPs to identify a revised and appropriate tenure split. Rentplus would seek to work with smaller RPs and allow them to grow organically off- balance sheet, receiving a management fee from Rentplus for administering the Rentplus affordable units. The model is simpler to traditional affordable housing, RP partners would provide financial advisers to help tenants set up mini-cash ISAs and to demonstrate creditworthiness.
For Rentplus to reach its full potential, we recommend that complementary policies in tenancy strategies and RP allocation and exchange policies align with policies in Local Plans. Rentplus’ mixture of rental income and capital return makes it an attractive investment product for pension funds and ethical investors. The Rentplus model can be grown organically at scale and (through further investment locally) is capable of creating a virtuous circle of investment in the Local Authority area. For these reasons we are of the view that Rentplus aligns well with the national planning policy and would help to meet local objectively assessed needs.”
Cllr Lynda Harford, Cambridgeshire County Council
“We know that people in the district have a very wide range of housing needs. Clearly, we have people in need of social rented homes as they are not able to, or may not want to, get on the housing ladder. However, we also have a huge number of people who are the squeezed middle. These families often have a good household income but are struggling to afford to buy their first home often because saving a deposit is difficult. We are working really hard to find innovative ways to address the problem and warmly welcome Rentplus’ plans that will help local people in the area.”
Gavin Barwell, former Housing Minister, Jan 2017
“I am very supportive of the innovative work which Rentplus are doing to widen access to home ownership and deliver more homes for a range of tenures”.
MHCLG official, March 2018
“Government welcomes privately funded, innovative home ownership schemes and remains committed to supporting those who aspire to homeownership but may be otherwise unable to afford it…It is pleasing to see the excellent work Rentplus are doing to deliver more affordable homes.”
