Rural Affordable Housing Guide BADINGHAM

Transcription

1 Rural Affordable Housing Guide BADINGHAM

2 Contents Introduction and acknowledgements (P.3) 1. What is Affordable housing? (P.4) 2. Why is affordable Housing needed in rural communities? (P.6) 3. What is an Exception Housing Scheme? (P.7) 4. Who is eligible for Affordable Housing and how is it allocated? (P.8) 5. Who builds the houses? (P.9) 6. How is Affordable Housing paid for? (P.10) 7. How is Affordable Housing delivered? (P.12) 8. What can you do if you think your village needs Affordable Housing? (P.15) The Norfolk Rural Housing Network (P.16) Norfolk Rural Community Council Ambassador Way, Greens Road, Dereham, Norfolk NR20 3TL Registered Charity No: Company Limited by Guarantee Registered in England and Wales No:

3 3 Introduction and acknowledgements This Guide is intended to provide basic information about Affordable Housing to Parish Councils and people living in rural communities (rural generally refers to areas or settlements with populations below 10,000). It is not intended to give comprehensive advice because planning and housing allocations policies and procedures, for example, vary from Local Authority to Local Authority and from time to time, and it is beyond the scope of this guide to cover all of that variation. Specific information about the relevant policies and procedures is best obtained from the Local Authority (the District or Borough Council) that covers the parish or area concerned, perhaps with the assistance of Norfolk Rural Community Council (Norfolk RCC - Tel: ) who work in partnership with all of the Local Authorities in Norfolk. Norfolk RCC would like to acknowledge the contribution of our partner organisations (listed on page 16) and thank them for their assistance in putting this guide together and for supplying the photographs and organisational logos. We would especially like to thank Abi Dennington-Price at South Norfolk District Council, Dean O Regan at Circle Anglia, Faith Davies at North Norfolk District Council, and Hazel Ellard and Veronica Savage at Broadland District Council for their input and detailed comments, which have helped us greatly in improving on earlier drafts and in shaping the final document. NORTH ELMHAM

4 1. What is Affordable housing? Essentially, Affordable Housing is housing for those whose needs are not met by the open market, usually because they can t afford normal market rents or prices. It comes in 2 basic varieties social rented and intermediate housing. Social rented housing: Is housing for rent from Local Authorities and Registered Providers (Registered Providers are mostly Housing Associations that have registered with the Tenant Services Authority, formerly the Housing Corporation). Social rent levels are set below market rates in accordance with fairly complicated government guidelines. Intermediate housing includes: Housing for part sale, part rent under shared-ownership schemes now known as New Build HomeBuy. Shares are sold at full market value and the minimum share that can be bought ranges between 25% and 50%. On rural exception housing schemes (see section 3) the maximum share that can be bought is typically 80%, and the rent element is usually set at the equivalent of around 2.75% per annum of the market value of the unsold share. On other Affordable Housing developments within the existing settlement limit or development boundary (see section 2) it is often possible to buy up to 100% in stages (sometimes called staircasing ), although the recently introduced protected areas designation that now applies to many rural settlements with populations below 3,000 allows limits to be placed on that too. Housing for rent at levels above social housing rents but below market rents. Discounted Market Rents, as they are usually called, are typically set at around 80% of normal market rent levels (ie. a 20% discount is applied). Housing for sale at below market price. Generally called Discounted Market Sales, purchase prices are typically set at around 80% of the market value (again, a 20% discount applies). Various other low cost home ownership HomeBuy products such as Open Market HomeBuy, Social HomeBuy, HomeBuy Direct and Rent To HomeBuy. Orbit HomeBuy are the agents for Norfolk and can provide further information on the various options - call or visit their website at: In practice, the most common types of Affordable Housing are social rented and shared-ownership and the vast majority of new affordable homes will be one or the other.

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6 Affordable Housing should: meet the needs of eligible households, including being available at a cost low enough for them to afford, taking account of local incomes and local house prices; and, remain at an affordable price for future eligible households (often referred to as remaining affordable in perpetuity). In rural areas, this requirement has led to the practice of attaching planning conditions to new Affordable Housing developments to ensure that the homes provided do indeed remain available and affordable to local people. As these conditions are set under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, they are usually referred to as section 106 agreements. Also, in villages of under 3,000 population, the Right To Acquire does not apply (this right allows some housing association tenants to buy their homes), helping ensure the housing remains available and affordable to local people in perpetuity. Government guidance, currently contained in Planning Policy Statement 3 (PPS3), does not necessarily exclude homes provided by the private sector, so long as they meet the relevant criteria. In practice Affordable Housing is almost exclusively delivered by Registered Providers so this guide mainly focuses on how that happens. 2. Why is Affordable Housing needed in rural communities? Affordable Housing is needed in rural communities because there is a general shortage of available housing and local people often find themselves priced out of their local housing market, forcing them to move away. The main reasons for this include a general decline in house building since the 1960s, the loss of former council houses sold under Right to Buy, and increased levels of second and holiday home ownership. This can mean, for example, that elderly and vulnerable people are unable to rely on extended family for care and support, as traditionally they would, and can make it increasingly difficult for local schools, Post Offices, shops and other businesses to remain viable. Valuable skills and expertise are lost to other areas where people can perhaps obtain housing more easily. This impacts on whole communities, potentially sending rural areas in particular into a spiral of decline. It also contributes to increased housing pressure in the areas people move to by reducing the available stock in those localities so that people there may need to look elsewhere for housing in turn.

7 To help address the problems that people face obtaining housing in their own communities, planning provisions have been made allowing so called Exception Housing Schemes to be developed specifically for housing local people. 3. What is an Exception Housing Scheme? Exception Housing Schemes (or Exception Schemes for short) are generally small (in terms of numbers of properties) Affordable Housing schemes in rural areas that are built outside of, but usually directly adjacent to, a Settlement Limit or Development Boundary (there are a number of different terms in use all meaning the same thing), where one exists. The Settlement Limit or Development Boundary marks the normal limit of where development is permitted (shown as a red line around settlements on planning maps), so schemes outside the development boundary can, therefore, only be developed as an exception to normal planning policy. The site the exception housing scheme gets developed on is similarly generally known as an Exception Site (or Rural Exception Site). 7 Settlement Boundary in Red

8 4. Who is eligible for Affordable Housing and how is it allocated? Eligible households are those with a housing need who have been accepted onto the relevant Local Authority s Housing Register (or waiting list). The Housing Register gives access to both social rented and shared ownership properties. Although the setting of priorities can vary across different Local Authorities, generally speaking the greater someone s need, the higher their housing priority and the sooner they are likely to be housed. The only exception to that is for exception housing schemes, which are normally subject to a planning condition requiring that the homes are retained in perpetuity for housing local people. This is ensured by Local Authorities prioritising those with local connections (through residence or employment, for example) to the parish or area concerned when allocating the properties. In the case of shared ownership, a ceiling is also set on the share that can be bought (currently 80%). On discounted market sales housing, the original discount percentage is also retained on future sales (ie. if a property is originally sold at a 20% discount it will always be sold in future at 20% below market levels). In this context, Affordable Housing on rural exception schemes is allocated as an exception to normal Local Authority allocations policies. Nowadays, most Local Authorities in Norfolk operate Choice Based Lettings schemes whereby people bid for available properties, but the same basic principles apply to all allocations from Local Authority Housing Registers. On Exception Housing Schemes, due to the section 106 agreement, applicant households with similar levels of need for a particular property or type of property are assessed according to the strength of their local connection, using what is often referred to as a local connection cascade. Basically, those with the strongest connections are given priority over those with weaker connections and those with no connection at all. Ultimately, whoever has the strongest local connection, from those households with similar levels of need for a particular property, will be nominated by the Local Authority. Of course, where a Choice Based Lettings scheme is in operation, only those who actually bid for a property can be nominated for it. Affordable Housing built within existing development boundaries does not always prioritise local people and nor is it necessarily subject to the same limitations on maximum shares or future sales, although this is increasingly becoming the case.

9 5. Who builds the houses? 9 As indicated at section 1. above, Affordable Housing schemes are usually delivered by Registered Providers, although theoretically at least they could potentially be provided by private developers (who, incidentally, are subject to lower minimum standards than Registered Providers in terms of space, design, build quality and energy efficiency). Generally, only Registered Providers can get planning permission to build on exception sites whereas private developers tend to be restricted to building within the existing development boundary. The Registered Providers developing Affordable Housing in Norfolk include those whose logos appear below.

10 6. How is Affordable Housing paid for? Private developers are usually required to either include a proportion of affordable homes within any new housing scheme or, alternatively, make a financial contribution to cover the cost of building them elsewhere ( off-site ), where on-site provision is not appropriate for some reason. Registered Providers can use monies from shared ownership sales and can borrow funds against their rental income stream. However, that is not enough by itself so further funding (or subsidy) is usually needed. That funding can come from various combinations of the following: The Homes & Communities Agency (the government agency that is the main provider of Affordable Housing subsidy) via a competitive bidding process for limited grant funding, subject to minimum design and build quality standards; Council Tax income generated on empty homes and second homes; Private developer contributions (ie. financial contributions towards off-site Affordable Housing provision, often referred to as commuted sums ; Land being made available free or at below normal market value; Most Local Authorities also have a pot of money that can be used to subsidise Affordable Housing. It mainly comes from the sale of former Council houses under the Right To Buy scheme.

11 HINDOLVESTON ELLINGHAM SNETTERTON HARPLEY LINGWOOD

12 7. How is affordable housing delivered? While the precise policies and procedures vary from Local Authority to Local Authority, the following summary is fairly typical of the steps involved in developing Affordable Housing schemes on rural exception sites. 1 Identifying a need This can be based on the Housing Register or other broad based housing needs research/information but often Local Authorities will require a more local (ie. parish level) housing needs survey, usually conducted by Norfolk RCC. Where a local survey is conducted, Norfolk RCC will analyse the data and provide a detailed report to both the Parish Council and the relevant Local Authority. Some Local Authorities also have separate strategies prioritising certain towns and villages for new Affordable Housing. 2 Identifying a partner to develop the scheme In Norfolk this tends to be on a rota basis (i.e. the Local Authorities offer work to different Registered Providers in turn) but sometimes Registered Providers might already have a site and in that case they would take it on. 3 Identifying suitable sites Parish Council, Local Authority, Registered Provider and, where involved, Norfolk RCC all participate to a greater or lesser degree in this aspect. This tends to be the most difficult part as it is rarely possible to please everyone as well as meet the relevant planning criteria. In general, subject to consultation and other planning considerations, potentially suitable sites would lie just outside the existing settlement limit or development boundary, where one exists.

13 13 4 Site Purchase Once a site (considered suitable in planning terms) has been identified, the Registered Provider negotiates and agrees in principle with the landowner to purchase the land after planning permission has been granted on the scheme. 5 Scheme Design The Registered Provider engages an architect or agent to design the scheme and that design is then used to calculate the cost of building the scheme, which, in turn, will allow the Registered Provider to identify how much subsidy is needed. The Registered Provider will also consult the Local Authority s Planning Department on the design and layout and will undertake any necessary site investigations and surveys. 6 Local Feedback The Parish Council will be asked to comment on the design and layout of the proposed scheme and a local public consultation event (or events) will be held to allow local people the opportunity to comment on the plans before a formal planning application is submitted. 7 Plans Submitted The Registered Provider or it s agents formally submits the planning application to the relevant Local Authority. As part of the decision making process, the local Town or Parish Council is then consulted by the Planning Department and invited to comment on the application. At this point members of the public can also submit comments directly to the Planning Department. Sometimes minor changes may be required but ultimately the application is either approved (usually subject to conditions such as those relating to ensuring the housing is retained in perpetuity for local people) or refused.

14 8 Funding The Registered Provider identifies and obtains funding and proceeds to purchase or otherwise obtain the land concerned. Funding can be identified at any point in the process after stage 5 above but may not actually become available until after planning permission has been granted and the builders are on-site. 9 Getting the Homes Built The Registered Provider arranges the development/building of the scheme. 10 Selecting Residents Prior to completion, the Registered Provider will seek nominations for the homes from the Local Authority concerned. Nominations are made from those on the Housing Register, in accordance with the relevant Local Authority s allocations policy and local connection cascade. Shared ownership properties are subject to a market valuation around 3 months before completion so that the price can be set for the share to be sold and the rent set on the remainder. 11 Final Steps On completion, the contractor hands the homes over to the Registered Provider and the rental properties can then be let and the shared ownership properties sold. The timescale can vary considerably from area to area and scheme to scheme but typically can take 2 to 3 years (or sometimes even up to 4 or 5 years) from initially identifying the need to people finally moving in.

15 8. What can you do if you think your village needs affordable housing? 15 In the first instance individuals could raise the matter with their Parish Council or perhaps ask Norfolk RCC to do so on their behalf. Similarly, Parish Councils could either contact their umbrella Local Authority directly or ask Norfolk RCC to assist. Norfolk RCC works in partnership with all of the Local Authorities in Norfolk so is able to discuss with them the best way to proceed in any particular case and can then advise and assist accordingly. There are further ways Parish Council s can help to address the situation. They can try to ensure that, wherever possible, all planning applications submitted within their parish contain an element of Affordable Housing. They can inform their Local Authority of any empty properties within the parish. They can encourage anyone in need of Affordable Housing to apply to the Housing Register. They can promote Community Led Planning (formerly Parish Planning) and ensure Affordable Housing is embedded in any related consultations and activities. They can consider setting up a Community Land Trust as a vehicle for the community to provide the housing itself.

16 The Norfolk Rural Housing Network is made up of the following organisations. If you would like more information about Affordable Housing, the Norfolk Rural Housing Network or any of the listed organisations, please contact Norfolk RCC. Borough Council of King s Lynn & West Norfolk Breckland District Council Broadland District Council Broadland Housing Associaction Circle Anglia Ltd Cotman Housing Association Flagship Housing Group Great Yarmouth Borough Council Hastoe Housing Association North Norfolk District Council Norfolk RCC Saffron Housing Trust South Norfolk District Council Norfolk Rural Community Council henry@norfolkrcc.org.uk Ambassador Way, Greens Road, Dereham, Norfolk NR20 3TL Registered Charity No: Company Limited by Guarantee Registered in England and Wales No: