In a first for Mid Sussex, local people have the chance to become homeowners despite having no savings, thanks to an innovative partnership between Mid Sussex District Council and affordable Rent to Buy providers, Rentplus-UK.
The new partnership means eight new affordable Rent to Buy homes were made available close to Felbridge on a prestigious Abbey Developments site, known as Martins Mead. Under the model, private finance funds new affordable housing at no cost to the local council.
Local MP Mims Davies MP joined with Councillors from Mid Sussex District Council to welcome new residents into the new homes they will be buying.
The new homes consist of 6 x 2-bedroom Houses and 2 x 3-bedroom houses and all have fenced gardens and a secure bicycle storage unit in the gardens. All applicants were required to have previously lived in or have connections to Mid Sussex.
The Rentplus homes saw over 100 applicants and, all homes have now been allocated. All tenants are key or essential workers, including working in the NHS and emergency services or local schools. Six were previously living in social housing properties in the district which they have freed up for reallocating. The remaining two were on the Council’s Housing Register.
The tenants started their home ownership journey by moving into their brand-new homes without paying any upfront deposit. They will pay an affordable rent based on the Local Housing Allowance for 5 years living in the home that they will one day own whilst they save up to buy it and build a good credit history.
By paying a below market rent they can save more each month. At the outset, they choose whether to buy their home after 5, 10, 15 or 20 years. They move in with no deposit and when they come to purchase, Rentplus will gift them 10% of their home’s value at that time to add to their savings and reduce the mortgage they need. They will buy their home using a high-street mortgage and then own 100% of it as if they had bought on the open market.
At the opening, Emma George, Area Director for the South East at Rentplus, said: “Affordability is an issue across the country. We’re excited to be offering Rentplus homes in Mid Sussex, to offer local homes for local people, enabling hard working people to stay living in the communities they grew up in.”
Councillor Salisbury Mid-Sussex District Council added:
“It is wonderful to see new homes being provided to help local people move towards home ownership. In doing so, this will also free up existing social housing for others, which provides another huge benefit to our district.”
Local MP, Mims Davies added: “These homes are life changing for the tenants moving in and are an inspiration for those who are aspiring to buy but may be finding it difficult to save for a deposit. Mid-Sussex District Council and Rentplus are doing something quite forward thinking, in helping local people achieve this. It was good to meet some of the families. Thank you to Sarah and her girls and Marcus for showing me around their homes. They now have the chance to become homeowners and we wish them well in their new homes.”
Mims Davies and Councillor Salisbury joined with the households to plant a sweet cherry tree, part of the Rentplus commitment to plant trees for the late Queen’s Jubilee Canopy.
Marketing/Social Media Officer
Exciting role in social and affordable housing
Milton Keynes – Hybrid working (1 or 2 days in the office)
Salary £24-£27k
We have an exciting opportunity for a Marketing/Social Media Officer to join the Rentplus communications and marketing team, working with the leading affordable rent-to-buy provider across England. The role supports the Head of Comms and Marketing in delivering strong marketing messages across traditional and digital formats.
You’ll need excellent written English and experience in producing compelling press releases, case studies – you’ll also be running social media campaigns so good graphic design skills essential, and video production would be a plus.
Job and person specification here.
Send a covering letter and CV to Head of Marketing and Communications. [email protected] by cop Monday 20 February 2023.
Locals helped onto housing ladder with innovative new scheme – the first in Ryedale
Local MP, Kevin Hollinrake, paid a visit to meet aspirant homeowners have who have just moved in to the first ever Rentplus affordable rent to buy homes in North Yorkshire. He met with local councillors, officers and Rentplus team, and met one of the new tenants in the development, Jess.
Ryedale District Council worked with Rentplus-UK to offer seven 2- and 3-bedroomed houses on the Wainds Field Development in Kirkbymoorside. All have private gardens and two allocated parking spaces.
Banks and building societies are demanding ever higher deposits to secure mortgages, which remains unaffordable for many. According to Zoopla, the average price for a property in Kirkbymoorside stood at £281,029 in 2021 and terraced houses £199,100. First time buyers would need to save over £25,000 to secure a mortgage and pay the fees most building societies demand, leaving many local residents, particularly key and essential workers on lower incomes, unable to buy their own home.
The award-winning Rentplus scheme allows prospective buyers to move into a brand new home without the need for a deposit. They pay affordable rent, set by the local authority, for their home for five to 20 years. For these properties, the rents are between £520 and £600 a month and tenants use the rental period to save towards a future mortgage deposit and build a good credit rating.
Rentplus buys the homes from developers and let them on long leases usually to local housing associations. The rent includes all repairs to the property.
At the end of the agreed term, the tenants have the opportunity to purchase 100% of their home, at which point, Rentplus gifts them 10% of the purchase price towards their deposit.
Steve Collins, Rentplus CEO, said: “Rentplus turns renters into homeowners. Affordability is a growing issue across the country and Rentplus is really making a difference. This is our first scheme in the North East and we’re excited to be working with Ryedale District Council and Cicero to help the area’s working families onto an affordable pathway to homeownership without the need for any upfront deposit.”
Cllr Mike Potter, Chair of Planning for Ryedale District Council added: “Last year we opened two housing developments to provide more affordable homes. I’m delighted that Wainds Field is the first of 2023 which we are delighted to officially open today. It provides affordable homes for our local community – the new tenants have local connections to the area, all working locally, most are in key or essential worker roles. It’s a lovely and welcoming site which is testament to the partnership working Ryedale District Council has undertaken with local developer, Cicero and with Rentplus for the benefit of our citizens.
“Our Council Plan sets out clear targets to provide affordable housing as we recognise that house prices and rents are high in Ryedale and that this is an issue we need to tackle. Ryedale is leading the way in delivering affordable homes for local people and Ryedale staff and Rentplus UK should be proud of delivering this.”
Kevin Hollinrake MP talked about the importance of helping people to have opportunities to own their own home. ““Owning your first home is a dream for every family. I was delighted to join Rentplus at their site in Ryedale to see what they are doing to make that dream a reality for local people and to meet some of the families living there. It was good to hear about how Rentplus offer not just affordable rent but the chance to buy so that people can benefit from being homeowners.
I would also like to wish Jess and her family good luck and congratulate them on moving into their new home through Rentplus.”
You can find out more by watching the Rentplus film Turning Renters into Homeowners.
Photo shows Kevin Hollinrake MP, Steve Collins (Rentplus CEO) and Cllr Phil Potter with new Rentplus tenant, Jess, and local councillors at the first Ryedale Rentplus home.
Our New Year’s Resolution is to get more councils across England to adopt Rentplus. We help working people on low to mid incomes onto the housing ladder without any upfront deposit.
Rentplus believes affordable rent to buy should be an option for everyone living in not just every county in the country, but in every local authority area.
If you want to see Rentplus offered where you live, ask your local councillors for an affordable rent to buy home. If they don’t know about Rentplus, ask them to get in touch!
Rentplus is offering affordable rent to buy homes in Battle.
There is a selection of two 2 bed and one 1 bed flats left. Move in with no deposit, rent for 5, 10, 15 or 20 years and when you’re ready to buy, we’ll gift you 10% gifted sum.
To register your interest, please email [email protected]. More information here.
Brand new affordable #RenttoBuy homes in #Derbyshire.
The scheme has a selection of one 3 bed and six 2 bed houses with rents between £564 to £660pcm.
Successful applicants move in with £0 deposit and can buy 100% of their home at years 5, 10, 15 or 20 and will receive a 10% gifted sum from Rentplus.
To register your interest, please email [email protected]. Get some more information here.
Rentplus has a selection of affordable #RenttoBuy homes in the Cambridge area.
There are five 2 bed homes and two 1 bed maisonettes, rents are between £720 to £800pcm.
Tenants move in with £0 deposit and can buy 100% of their home at years 5, 10, 15 or 20 and will receive a 10% gifted sum from Rentplus.
Applicants must have a local connection to the South Cambridgeshire area. Register your interest at [email protected], and find out more here.
A Devon-based innovative approach to increasing local home ownership has seen six local families being helped onto the housing ladder.
A new partnership between Plymouth-based Rentplus-UK and local housing association, South Devon Rural, working with West Devon Council and local builders, Harrington Homes, meant six new affordable rent to buy homes were available close to the centre of Lifton. Under the model, private finance funds new affordable housing at no cost to the local council. The housing association also benefits from a new rental income stream, in return for taking over local management of the tenancies.
With just four weeks until Christmas, Sir Geoffrey Cox MP joined with Cllr Caroline Mott, Mayor of West Devon and Lead Member for Built Environment and Christine Candlish, CEO at South Devon Rural Housing to welcome the new residents into the homes they will be buying.
The homes consist of two 2-bed houses and four 1-bed flats. All homes have been allocated and tenants are starting their home ownership journey by moving into their brand-new homes without paying any upfront deposit. They will pay an affordable rent (80% of market rent) for an agreed period, living in the home that they will one day own whilst they save up to buy it. Each family has previously lived in or have connections to the area.
By paying a below market rent they can save more each month. At the outset, they choose whether to buy their home after 5, 10, 15 or 20 years. They move in with no deposit and when they come to purchase, Rentplus will gift them 10% of their home’s value to add to their savings and reduce the mortgage they need. They will buy their home using a high-street mortgage and then own 100% of it as if they had bought on the open market.
At the event, Robin Falle, Regional Director for the West of England at Rentplus, said: “Affordability is an issue across the country. We’re excited be working with South Devon Rural and West Devon Council to offer local home for local people, enabling hard working people to stay living in the communities they grew up in. It is good to be here today to meet the tenants, hand over their keys and to wish them all the best in their new home.”
Christine Candlish, Chief Executive at South Devon Rural, commended all parties for the partnership and said: “One of the things that excites us about working with Rentplus is the way it fills a gap in the market, particularly in small rural villages where people want to stay living in their communities, but cannot afford to. With Rentplus they can stay living locally, pay an affordable rent, build their deposit, and buy. They never have to move again if they choose not to.
“We’re excited about future opportunities, and we all wish our tenants picking up their keys today every luck and happiness in their new homes”.
Cllr Caroline Mott, Mayor of West Devon added: “This is the council’s sixth scheme with Rentplus. We need more schemes to get affordable housing into our local communities. Giving local people the chance to buy a home in these villages is crucial to the future of our rural communities. We are working with partner agencies as we want to see more schemes like this come to fruition.”
Sir Geoffrey Cox MP said: “Partnership such as this have an important part to play in enabling more people to own their homes. Providing people with somewhere to call their own is the single most important cause of the time. Talking to the people moving in today I can see how much it means to them to have a place of their own that they will someday own. Giving people the chance to own their home is true Levelling Up. Schemes such as Rentplus assist in this and I hope there are more to come.”
Declan and Georgina Howarth are amongst the first residents to move in to their new Lifton homes. Not needing a deposit to move in is a real bonus, they told us. “We’re really excited to be moving in. We’ll be paying an affordable rent, cheaper than local rents, which means we can save our deposit and get on the housing ladder earlier than we expected thanks to the Rentplus scheme.” The young family are excited to be in for Christmas. “Firstly, we’ll get the carpets put in next week, then the Christmas tree goes up!”
Sir Geoffrey, Cllr Mott and Christine Candlish also planted a sweet cherry tree, part of the Rentplus commitment to plant trees for the late Queen’s Jubilee Canopy.
