Affordable Rural Housing

Affordable Rural Housing is housing provided in rural parishes for people on lower incomes who are unable to meet their housing needs in the general housing market.  Affordable rented housing is usually owned by a Housing Association  (2.83 KB) (Registered Social Landlord,or RSL) and rented at a weekly rent that is affordable to people on low incomes.

Shared ownership and fixed equity homes are partly purchased by the resident and partly owned by the RSL.  In the case of shared ownership, the resident may pay rent on the part owned by the RSL.  For fixed equity schemes, the  resident does not pay any rental share.  The RSL is able to provide the housing at affordable levels as they receive grant funding from the Housing Corporation towards the development costs.

The rents charged on affordable rented homes are capped according to the Housing Corporation's rent policy.  In 2008, rents on a typical rural scheme would be £68 - £73 per week for a two bedroomed flat, £75 - £78 per week for a one bedroomed bungalow, £78 - £83 per week for a two bedroomed house and £83 - £90 per week for a three bedroomed house.  These will typically be the type of units provided on a rural scheme, but it depends on the needs information indicated from the Housing Needs Survey (HNS), and the exact location of the scheme

If the survey shows that there is significant demand for it, then a small amount of shared ownership properties may be provided. Shared ownership housing requires the purchaser to obtain a mortgage  (71.36 KB) and requires a minimum income leve  (67.06 KB)l.  In villages with a population of less tha 3,000 , all shared ownership units will be retained for local people as they will only be allowed to buy up to an 80% share of the property.

The benefits of an affordable housing scheme is that it can make a huge contribution to a parish, by not only meeting the housing needs of local people, but by helping to maintain the viability of services and amenities in the parish.  It may also help maintain the social balance and social networks within the parish.

The first step towards the creation of affordable housing is to contact the Worcestershire Rural Housing Enabler  (1.92 KB) (RHE) from Community First.  This is an independent 'honest broker' who acts on behalf of rural communitites to facilitate rural housing schemes. The post is funded from various sources which includes 4 Local Authorities, 7 Housing Associations and Worcestershire County Council.

The role is to encourage Parish Councils and local communities to help identify housing need and engage with the process of developing affordable housing in their parish, and then to support and assist the Parish Council and local community throughout the process.  A major part of the role is to liaise with all the parties involved in the process.

A Housing Needs Survey will be carried out with the support of the Parish Council and will indicate the amount and type of affordable housing that is required in each village.  By asking local people for details of their income and housing preference, a proposal can be drawn up for each village on the amount of affordable rented housing and shared ownership housing that is required to meet local needs.

A list of planning requirements that must be fulfilled by any company wishing to build a scheme anywhere are contained in a Section 106 (s106) agreement.  For example, a scheme for 10 houses in a town may require a proportion of affordable homes and a financial contribution towards sustainable transport improvements, or towards nearby open space or play facilities.  For rural schemes, the s106 will include clauses referring to keeping the houses for local people, and keeping them affordable in perpetuity.

Rural housing schemes are traditionally difficult to develop and each site is different, so a number of factors can influence the time frame, including the number of plots available, how much work is requried on the roads, whether the planners are in favour of the site, the funding and how much opposition there is to the site in the parish. It can take several years from the housing needs survey to occupation of the homes.

The homes will be allocated through the Home Choice Plus  (417.49 KB) housing register and the appropriate RSL.  They will decide who is in the greatest need out of those who have a local connection.  (12.09 KB)

It will be important that the Parish Council understands the process to advise local people.  In the Malvern Hills District Council's area, the locally elected District and Parish Councillors will observe the first round of the allocation process.  Verification of an applicant's local connection will be undertaken by the RSL, which may include a home visit if necessary.

How can we be sure that properties will be allocated to local people?

It is outlined in the Section 106 agreement that any exception development must be kept for local poeple and this is legally binding to the Housing Association and to the Local Authority.  People will have to qualify as being local to be nominated for a property, and if no one can be found from the main parish, there will be a list of neighbouring parishes that can be put forward as reserves. Should a person with a local link with any of these be put forward, then they will be nominated.

The s106 agreement ensures that all future letteings or shared ownership sales have to meet the same local connection criteria as when the homes were first built.  A tenant will have the right to exchance their home with another social housing tenant, but only if the incoming tenant meets the local connection criteria.

There are planning regulations in place to allow Greenfield development under certain circumstances, and providing the following criteria are in place:

• The Parish Council supports the "exception site"
• It will be kept affordable for local people
• It is supported by a recent housing needs survey
• The proposal accords with the adopted Development Plan for the area

Even if these criteria are in place, the planning application will be subject to approval from the planners in a number of other ways, including highways, sustainability, and impact on open countryside.  some green areas may be part of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in which case even stricter planning controls may apply.

Due to the development being an "exception" site, it will not set any precedent for building outside of the development boundary.  Should the Parish Council obtain a scheme which does not fully cater for the level of housing need in the village, they can apply for another scheme, but will have to repeat the process (including a new Housing Need survey) from the beginning.

Why are Housing Needs Surveys required when there is already a Home Choice Plus housing register?

Many people who live in rural areas believe that affordable housing will never be built in rural areas so do not join the Housing Register.  If the nees was soleley judged by the register, it would underestimate the number of people in rural housing need, and schemes would be underprovided.  Housing Needs surveys almost always turn up people who are in need, but have not joined the register.  A Housing Need Survey can also help in consulting with the parish community and may help in land coming forward.

The Rural Housing Enabler will work with the Parish Coucil to undertake a survey of the whole parish to establish the unique needs of each rural community.  A questionnaire and analysis software have been designed by Community First in order to ensure the robust validity of the result.  This is important for both obtaining planning consent an the funding for rural schemes.

Questionnaires will be sent to every household in the parish and to local people who have had to move away to find an affordable home, but are known to want to return.  The survey can be used as a register, encouraging people to give their names and contact details.  They can then be sent an application for the Home Choice Plus housing register to apply for affordable housing.

More information on developing an affordable rural housing scheme can be found in the booklet Affordable Homes Toolkit  (2.43 MB) or by contacting the Rural Housing Enabler or the Housing Enabling Officer from Malvern Hills District Council.

For Glossary of Terms see JargonBuster.  (42.35 KB)