John Walton FCIH has joined Rentplus as the Regional Director across the eastern side of England.
Steve Collins, Rentplus Chief Executive, welcomed him to the team and said: “John joins Rentplus at a very exciting time in our growth.
“He is a senior residential development, housing, and regeneration professional with more than 25 years’ experience in the affordable housing sector. He brings a wealth of experience across private and public sector housing organisations including 10 years’ at a senior level within the housing sector. His significant strategic experience in the development of effective growth strategies and organisational improvement plans including development strategies, land briefs, service improvement plans and design brief reviews will add real value to Rentplus.
“John is passionate about motivating his team to deliver quality new homes, projects that are based around effective collaboration, and partnership working, all in the interests of making a real difference in the local communities we operate in.
“He joins Robin Falle, our Regional Director for the western side of the country. These new roles will support our Area Directors in bringing new affordable rent to buy schemes to fruition, enabling more of our key workers and other lower income families into homeownership.
“He will be working with our teams and meeting housing partners from Northumberland in the north east to the south eastern coast over the coming weeks.”
Rentplus CEO, Steve Collins, has broadly welcomed much of what the new housing secretary said in Manchester this week and the government’s intention to help those currently renting, and to secure a better deal for those in social housing.
Michael Gove said there is a “terrible situation” where renters who want to buy a home are paying more for “real uncertainty” than people with a mortgage are paying “to acquire that asset”.
This was amplified by the ONS report this week which demonstrated that those lower income earners living in private rented accommodation pay a significantly larger percentages of their income in rent – 38%, compared to the 23% paid by average or higher income earners.
Michael Gove also spoke about social housing providers both improving stock and increasing numbers. While he hinted at plans for a policy aimed at making it easier for first-time buyers to “secure finance” to become homeowners, Gove coyly added that “it is the case that we do need to look at access to finance overall, I won’t say much about that at this stage.”
Gove also addressed the government’s ‘levelling up’ agenda: “In my department that will mean investing in urban regeneration with new homes on neglected brownfield sites, a better deal for those in social housing and helping more of those who currently rent to own their own homes.”
We welcome these comments – because it is already at the fore of what Rentplus does and is already delivering on.
Rentplus has removed the deposit barrier for renters who move into a brand-new attractive home without the need for an upfront deposit. Tenants pay affordable rent (80% of market rate or LHA). We gift them 10% towards their savings when they are ready to buy – so they have real equity in their home. Not only do we have a higher percentage of our renters turning into homeowners than Shared Ownership or Help to Buy, but those benefitting have lower earnings than the government’s own programmes.
Rentplus provides additionality of social housing on new developments, many on brownfield sites, increasing the number of social houses and providing a route for local people to get on the housing ladder. Our tenants largely come from existing social housing or are on waiting lists, paying high private rent and unable to save for their deposit. We’ve removed that barrier to give people access to homes in places they want to live, allowing them to live and work and bring up their families and contribute to their local communities; and we are doing this across England.
We provide incentives for housing associations. They get increased stock and new income streams, without having to raise further debt. The rental income they derive from Rentplus tenants funds repairs to outdated social housing stock or provides debt counselling to tenants.
Crucially, Rentplus has been doing this without any government funding. For over five years, Rentplus’ institutional investors have provided homes for families across the country, just as Peter Freeman, Chair of Homes England, is now calling for. Rentplus has affordable rent to buy tenanted homes (including those in development or accepted offers) across 35 counties in partnership with 55 local authorities across England.
Rentplus looks forward to working with Gove’s team and continuing to deliver – at pace – greener, more beautiful places to live for our key workers and other lower income earners, helping them fulfil their dream of turning from being a renter to a homeowner.
Rentplus has contributed to the House of Lords’ Built Environment Committee’s enquiry. You can read our Executive Summary below or the full response here.
Last year, the supply of new affordable homes was just 40% of what the sector estimates is required to meet housing need.
At a time of tight Government spending allocations the only way to deliver the amount of new affordable homes needed is with a significant injection of private sector investment.
Privately funded providers can also help to deliver a diverse range of tenures to meet the overwhelming aspiration of home ownership across the population, supplementing Government funded models.
At present, first-time buyers are concentrated amongst those on higher incomes due to this group being better able to save for a deposit. This has been exacerbated by the pandemic. Whilst middle to higher-income households have generally been able to save more as outgoings decreased, many of those on lower incomes have had to dip into their savings or take on more debt, pushing any hope of saving for a deposit even further away and generating adverse credit history.
This growth in savings inequality will translate into inequality of opportunity for thousands of people to own their own home unless more is done to address the deposit barrier.
At an average of £59,000, saving for a deposit is impossible for many renters on lower incomes who struggle to save each month and 60% of private renters have no savings at all.
To meet the UK’s housing demand, we need to ensure that a wider range of people can achieve their home ownership ambitions, not just those on middle to higher incomes. There need to be accessible routes into ownership for those who struggle to save. This group are also locked out of schemes such as Help to Buy and Shared Ownership which still require upfront deposits.
Affordable rent to buy is a model which meets this need and opens up home ownership to a wider group of households overall. The average income of tenants is over £20,000 lower than those using Help to Buy.
There is increasing interest from institutional investors in the affordable housing sector as providing a long-term, steady return on investment, including investing in affordable home ownership tenures. This includes the likes of pension funds for major UK companies.
However, many local authorities are reluctant to accept affordable housing funded privately rather than through the more familiar route of Government grant. Anecdotally, the primary reason for this is a lack of confidence from housing officers that this is supported by national policy, as well as a preference for sticking to the ‘traditional’ methods of delivery. This means that the country is losing out on additional affordable housing that could be delivered at no cost to the Treasury, and the Government will fall short on their targets to deliver the amount of new homes required.
We have been encouraged by the Housing Minister’s comments that the Government is keen for housing associations to explore new funding
streams to support the supply of new affordable homes, and similarly from the chair of Homes England that the agency is “keen to hear” from institutional investors looking at the affordable housing sector.
This needs to be backed up by clear guidance from the Government that encourages and directs local authorities to welcome institutional investment in their affordable housing provision and to consider innovative models.
There are billions of pounds waiting to be unlocked if local government was more amenable to accepting institutional investment and if the Government did more to encourage local authorities to do so and break down the existing cultural barriers. This will enable the scaled-up delivery of additional homes at no cost to the Government that can meet a wider range of housing need.
Local people in Oadby and Wigston have the unique chance to become homeowners without the need for an upfront deposit in a first for Leicestershire.
Oadby and Wigston Borough Council has signed an agreement for eight Rentplus-UK affordable rent to buy homes to be included in the social housing element of the Redrow Homes Clarence Fields development in Wigston.
Rentplus homes allow working people to move into brand new home with no deposit. They pay affordable discounted rent for a period of 5-20 years before being given the opportunity to buy the home after 5 years. At the point of purchase, Rentplus gifts the tenants 10% of market value to add to their savings, which in turn lowers their mortgage.
The scheme has already proved successful elsewhere in the country and the adoption of the Rentplus scheme by Oadby and Wigston Borough Council makes Leicestershire the 24th county where Rentplus has tenanted properties, is in contract or has offers accepted to build new affordable rent to buy homes.
In this area local people would need to have in excess of £25,000 of savings to cover a 10% deposit for a two bed home – plus and fees. This makes it difficult for many trying to get onto the property ladder. Even those able to save £200 a month would take 10 years to save this amount.
There are 43 new homes on the Redrow Homes site; of these, 35 are open market and eight are being delivered under a S106 agreement with the council. The houses add to local social housing stock without the council needing to raise the funds and they will derive income from the rents.
The council has identified eight families drawn from its waiting list. Some will move out of existing council homes into the Rentplus homes, freeing these up for allocating to those in greatest priority need.
Councillor Bill Boulter, said: “We’re delighted to be part of this innovative partnership which provides brand new homes to families on our housing waiting list.
“The other great advantage to this scheme is it gives the families the opportunity and time to save up a deposit so they can buy the home in future, getting themselves onto the property ladder.
“Importantly too, it allows the council to add to its housing stock, collect income from rent, but not have the up front cost of needing to buy the homes.”
Steve Collins, chief executive at Rentplus, said: “We’re excited to be offering these lovely homes in partnership with Oadby and Wigston Borough Council.
“With escalating house prices, the ability for our key and essential workers, and others on low to middle incomes to save for a deposit sinks with every percentage price rise in houses.
“Rentplus removes that deposit barrier, genuinely turning renters into homeowners. And unlike other types of home ownership schemes like shared ownership, tenants own 100% of their home.
“I hope that this will be the first of many Rentplus homes made available for local people.”
Rentplus started in the south west of England with tenants moving in to the first homes in 2016. In July 2021, the first ones completed on the purchase of their home this summer, securing high street mortgages and owning 100% of their home, unlike with Shared Ownership or Help to Buy.
The majority of Rentplus tenants around the country fall into key and essential worker categories, traditionally those on lower or middle incomes. Many are in private rented accommodation, unable to save towards their deposit. In some areas tenants move from existing social housing into a Rentplus home, freeing up their much needed homes for those in greater need on the council’s waiting list.
The Clarence Fields site is in Wigston, centerally located in the country, just five miles from Leicester city centre, and equally close to the M1. It is perfectly placed for work and leisure with outstanding local schools within easy reach, and the beauty of open Leicestershire countryside right on the doorstep.
Rentplus is funded by institutional investors, providing affordable rent-to-buy homes with no grant or public subsidy. Partners benefit from having an extended tenure offer for local people, and increased rental income from the homes.
In July 2021, Rentplus celebrated its first sale to the first tenant who moved into a Rentplus home in Somerset without a deposit in 2016. After 5 years of paying affordable rent, the tenant now owns 100% of their home. Their 10% gifted funds from Rentplus that they added to their savings for a deposit for their high street mortgage.
Pictured by the door L-R: Chris Eyre Lettings Officer at O&WDC, Ward Councillor, Cllr Bill Boulter with Steve Collins CEO at Rentplus-UK and upstairs, Cllr Lynda Eaton JP with Deputy Leader Cllr Samir Haq.
Rentplus is proud to be a recipient of the Armed Forces Covenant Bronze Employer Recognition Scheme in recognition of our support for forces’ personnel. The majority of Rentplus applicants and tenants are key and essential workers, including our service personnel and we are pleased to be able to support families into their affordable rent to buy homes when they have left the services. We’re in discussions with the MOD to see how we can offer greater support to forces’ personnel.
Affordable Rent-to-Buy housing provider, Rentplus, has welcomed the outcome of a planning appeal which confirms that Rent-to-Buy housing is included within the 2019 National Planning Policy Framework’s definitions of affordable housing. Following the appeal, Rentplus hopes that more local authorities across the country will look to the updated NPPF and include Rent-to-Buy as an important affordable housing tenure.
The case, brought by Karbon Homes, a leading Registered Provider in the North East region, was for planning permission for 47 affordable homes on land north of Saxty Way, Sowerby. Permission was originally refused by Hambleton District Council in April 2020 with the council raising concerns that the need for affordable housing in the district was already being met and that the scheme, which proposed rent-to-buy homes, did not meet the identified tenure mix in the Council’s 2015 Supplementary Planning Document.
Planning advisors to Rentplus, Tetlow King, brought the case for Karbon Homes and provided expert evidence at the appeal hearing, offering an in-depth analysis of an array of affordability issues including housing costs and the Housing Register.
In the context of 1,000 people on the housing register in March 2020, and some of the worst affordability statistics in Yorkshire and the Humber, they argued that the benefits of affordable housing carried substantial weight in the planning balance.
The Inspector made it clear that more affordable housing should come forward sooner and said that the council’s rejection of the S106 housing “would seem to run contrary to the necessity to provide affordable homes for the households who are in most need”.
Rent-to-Buy homes were a part of the application and the Inspector agreed that Rent-to-Buy is specifically provided for in the most recent National Planning Policy Framework, and that this took precedence over older NPPF definitions and the earlier Supplementary Planning Document.
Rentplus, winner of the NHA’s Most Innovative Housing Solution, is the leading provider of affordable Rent-to-Buy offering a route to homeownership that requires zero deposit to move in to a brand new home. Rentplus tenants are working people, likely to be renting privately and unable to save. They pay affordable rent (typically 80% of local private housing rates) for a minimum of 5 years, and up to 20. They use this time to clear debts, build good credit ratings and start to save. When ready to buy, Rentplus gifts them 10% towards their deposit. They then own 100% of their home from the start, unlike shared ownership, Help to Buy or First Homes. The majority of Rentplus residents are key or essential workers.
Rentplus CEO Steve Collins has addressed several planning conferences over the past 18 months with Jamie Roberts, Principal Planner at Tetlow King to make it clear to councils that affordable Rent-to-Buy is supported by the NPPF. The product has cross party and government ministers’ support, and from local authorities across the country who have already adopted Rentplus and the Rent-to-Buy proposition.
Jamie Roberts said: “The 2019 NPPF encompasses a wide range of affordable tenures which meet the needs of a wide range of households. We’re pleased that this decision confirms that Rent-to-Buy homes are acceptable in the context of the NPPF, even in areas where local policy and guidance might not yet reflect this”.
Steve Collins added: “Local Authorities need to have reference to the latest NPPF in taking decisions around affordable housing. Taking decisions based on out-of-date legislation is costing taxpayers money in appeals, many of which councils are losing.
“Rentplus is happy to talk to those councils it has not partnered with to explain the model and how it fits into the NPPF’s definitions as both ‘affordable housing for rent’, and other ‘affordable routes to home ownership’.”
For more information, please visit www.rentplus-uk.com. For more information about the decision see https://www.tetlow-king.co.uk/news/
It’s critical that more is done to help people get on the housing ladder and the First Homes scheme is a welcome initiative. However, the scheme does not solve all the problems facing aspirant homeowners on low incomes. The deposit barrier will still remain an issue for many – 61% of private renters cannot save money at all after paying bills each month, meaning First Homes are still out of reach.
It’s imperative that the Government delivers on its desire to see public sector housing bodies embrace private investment and adopt schemes that allow those who struggle with even a reduced deposit to get onto the housing ladder. This should be done at pace in order for the country to deliver more affordable homes
Rentplus is already working with forward thinking housing associations and local authorities, removing the deposit barrier and giving families across the country the chance to own 100% of their home.
Steve Collins
CEO Rentplus-UK
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Last week, the Secretary of State for Housing set out his response to the Queen’s Speech. In it, he defined the Rentplus ethos.
“No reasonable person in this House, or indeed across the country, can credibly make the case that we should not be building more homes, because all of us in this House aspire to be or are already homeowners, and we aspire for our own children and grandchildren to be homeowners as well.
“The property-owning democracy is one of the foundations of this country—the belief that home ownership should be achievable for all who dream of it, and that young people, irrespective of where they are born, should be able to own the keys to their own home.
“For too many, this uniquely British dream has proved to be out of reach, and we face a generational divide between those who own property and those who do not. By the age of 30, those born between 1981 and 2000 are half as likely to be homeowners as those born between 1946 and 1965.
“Too many young people are being locked out of the benefits of capitalism. As we work hard to level up the country and to bridge this home ownership divide, we must do everything we can to make home ownership accessible to even more people.”
Rentplus exists because a property developer in Plymouth realised his own family and friends – working in good jobs – could not afford to buy their own home. He teamed up with a visionary local Housing Association and approached Plymouth City Council. They proposed a new housing tenure to allow working families to get onto the housing ladder by removing the deposit barrier – the largest barrier to home ownership.
Rentplus-UK was born.
In 2016, the first Rentplus tenants moved in to a speculative Rentplus scheme with Tamar Housing (now Willow Tree Housing), drawn from the local waiting list. They moved in with zero deposit down, and paid affordable rent for 5 years. Over that time, they cleared any student loans or debts, built a strong credit rating and started to save – something they hadn’t been able to do as their previous high private rents had prevented this.
Later this summer, those tenants will buy 100% of their home, with mortgages from high street providers, helped with an additional 10% gifted sum to boost their savings.
The model is proven.
Since then, many, many more have embarked on their homeownership journey with Rentplus across England and we’re in talks to make a further 22,000 homes available for first time buyers, unable to save the huge deposits now required to get on the ladder.
Now, in 2021, Rentplus is working with councils across the country to offer affordable rent to buy and is pushing ahead to deliver the vision of having affordable rent to buy available in every county in the country.
The tenure enjoys cross party, and government support. It has won national awards for being an innovative home ownership scheme. It has a QC’s determination that nothing in planning law prevents local authorities adopting the scheme.
If you’re a forward looking Housing Association, Local Authority or a developer looking for investment in S106 housing on your site, get in touch today by calling your area manager on 0330 229 0035 or visit https://www.rentplus-uk.com/contact-us
Medina House in Central Milton Keynes is an exciting development of 86 new contemporary flats for sale. It includes seven new Rentplus apartments offering the chance for people living or working in Milton Keynes to get on the housing ladder without the need for any initial deposit.
Rentplus is a national award winning rent-to-buy scheme with homes across southern England. It offers those who are working and who aspire to home ownership, the real prospect of achieving their goal of buying their own home, without the need for any initial deposit. Tenants pay a discounted rent for a minimum of 5 years (at 80% of the open market rent), giving them time to build a good credit rating, and save towards their house purchase.
By agreement, tenants may choose to extend tenancies to rent for up to 20 years but have the option to purchase 100% of their home after 5, 10, 15 or 20 years: this will be agreed at the start. When ready to purchase, tenants are given a 10% gifted deposit from Rentplus towards their deposit.
Rentplus tenants move into their home with NO deposit. Tenants pay a discounted rent for a minimum of 5 years (at 80% of the open market rent), giving them time to build a good credit rating, and save towards their house purchase.
Tenants may choose to extend tenancies to rent for up to 20 years but have the option to purchase 100% of their home after 5, 10, 15 or 20 years. When ready to purchase, tenants are given a 10% gifted deposit from Rentplus towards their deposit.
Applicants for the rent-to-buy homes must have a local connection to Milton Keynes, either by living or working in the Borough for the last 12 months or with family living in the borough for the last 2 years. They must be in employment and have aspirations to buy their own home within a 5, 10, 15 or 20- year period.
Register your interest for this Rentplus scheme with HCHA by emailing [email protected] or visit hcha.org.uk/rentplus/
