Safe, Warm & Secure Home Improvement Loan Scheme Application Form for Owner-Occupiers Your completed application form, with contractors estimates, and an up-to-date statement of your existing mortgage, if you have one, should be returned to: Mark Congreve, Team Manager, Housing Solutions and Compliance Municipal Offices, Civic Centre, Ebbw Vale, NP23 6XB Tel: 01495 357813 1 FIRST APPLICANT Mr/Mrs/Ms/Other 2 Full Name as on your passport or driving licence 3 Please complete sections below: Address 4 5 6 7 8 Number of years at this address If you have lived at your current address for less than three years, please provide previous address(es) Contact Telephone Numbers E mail address National Insurance Number 9 Are you a current UK resident for tax purposes? 10 Number of children or other dependents in the household Home: Mobile: Date of birth Please note that all applicants must be registered owners of the property to be improved. All registered owners of the property must apply for the loan.
SECOND APPLICANT Please complete sections below: 11 Mr/Mrs//Ms/Other 12 Full Name as on your passport or driving licence 13 Address 14 15 Number of years at this address If you have lived at your current address for less than three years, please provide previous address(es) 16 Home: Contact Telephone Numbers Mobile: 17 18 E mail address National Insurance Number Date of Birth 19 20 Are you a current UK resident for tax purposes? Relationship to first applicant Please note that Smart Money (Credit Union) will assess whether a loan is affordable for you. You will need to complete a separate financial form and attend an interview. We will contact you to arrange this once we have processed this application form. PROPERTY DETAILS 21 Is your property freehold or leasehold?
22 When did you buy the property? 23 What was the purchase price? 24 What do you estimate to be the current value? 25 How many bedrooms does your property have? 26 Is there an existing mortgage or loan secured against the property? If YES, please complete parts a) to e) below YES NO (a) Name of Lender (b) Contact name and telephone number at lender (c) Address of lender (d) Mortgage/loan account number (e) Amount of loan/mortgage outstanding All loans will be registered as a local land charge. Loans of 5,000 or above will also be secured by a financial charge, which will be registered at the Land Registry. If you already have a mortgage or loan on your property, your bank or building society must agree to a second charge in favour of Blaenau Gwent Council (you may wish to check this with your lender before completing your application). We will then need to obtain the first lender s written consent. We cannot offer a loan where there are already two or more charges secured against the property.
27 The following section relates to the property which is subject of the Loan. Please ensure all relevant sections are answered. All applications must be supported by a valuation report. The valuation must be undertaken by a member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) on the property offered as security for the loan. The report should confirm current market value, potential value (on completion of project). The cost of the valuation is payable by the applicant and no application for a loan will be processed without this document. Please note that Blaenau Gwent County Council must be named as an interested party and the surveyor must note that the Council is relying on the valuation report for the purpose of loan application. i. When was the property purchased? What was the purchase price of the property, including all ancillary costs e.g. legal/surveyor fees, stamp duty etc. Date ii. What is the value of the property in its current condition? iii. What is the total cost of the works? - This should be the same as question 32 above and include VAT, if applicable. iv. Are there any existing mortgages or loans secured against this property? Yes / No v. vi. If you have answered YES to the question above please state the value of the outstanding loan(s)/mortgage(s) (You will be required to provide further information in Part Seven) What are the total monthly repayments on the outstanding loan(s)/mortgage(s) vii. What is the anticipated total value of the property/units on completion of the works? viii. What is the value of loan you are applying for? (The maximum loan available is 25,000 per unit or converted unit, maximum 150,000 per applicant). Minimum loan of 1000 ix. If the total Home Improvement Loan does not cover the cost of the works how will you fund this shortfall? Documentary proof of this funding will be required. Please give details Have you provided documentar y proof? PROPOSED WORKS
28 Please give details of the work you intend to carry out, both internal and external Will the proposed works require planning permission? YES/NO 29 If Yes, has planning permission been (please tick box) Granted Applied for Not yet applied for 30 Will the proposed works required Building Regulations approval? YES/NO If Yes, has building regulation approval been: Granted Applied for Not yet applied for 31 You will need to obtain quotes from at least two contractors. Please provide copies of these with this application form and give details below.
NAME OF COMPANY COST i) ii) 31 How much do you wish to borrow from this loan scheme? 32 Have you previously applied to Blaenau Gwent Council for any other assistance? YES/NO If yes, please give details: 32 BANK DETAILS (where the loan, if approved, should be paid) Name of Bank/Building Society Sort Code Name of Account Account Number DECLARATION Anyone who knowingly makes a false declaration may be guilty of an offence. Your property may be at risk if you do not comply with the conditions of the loan. I/we declare that the information provided in this application is accurate Applicant 1 Signature: Date: Applicant 2 Signature: Date: DATA PROTECTION The information you give us is confidential and will only be used for purposes of this application.
Please note that a copy of this form will be passed to the Smart Money (Credit Union) for purposes of an affordability assessment. In submitting this form, you are giving your consent to this. Where you do provide us with personal information, it will be treated in the strictest confidence, in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 (as amended) and we will only use it for the purposes it is given. If we hold information about you, we assure you that we are processing it fairly and lawfully. Using and disclosing information We will only use or disclose the information about you in accordance with what we have told you, unless we are required to do so for legal reasons. Sharing information with others Sometimes we have to confirm or share information between organisations. We will pass your information to others who undertake work for us in administering the loan and to prevent fraudulent activity or for debt recovery. For the purposes of the Home Improvement Loan Scheme, information will be shared between Blaenau Gwent Council and the Welsh Government, including for research/evaluation purposes, and any partner organisation appointed by the Welsh Government to evaluate the scheme. Evaluation will help Welsh Government and local authorities in Wales ensure that future initiatives are developed with a clear understanding about how useful the Home Improvement Loan Scheme has been to people, and why. By submitting this application/accepting this loan, you consent for the information you provide to be passed to the Welsh Government or a research contractor for the purpose of evaluating the initiative. Publicity Please tick the box if you do not agree to participate in any publicity campaigns with the council or its partner organisations, to promote the Safe, Warm & Secure scheme.
IDENTITY VERIFICATION In order to comply with Money Laundering Regulations, an officer of the council must personally meet each applicant and verify their identity against their ID documents. Please make an appointment for the ID check with the scheme manager. For the ID check, each applicant will need to provide original documents, one item from list A and one from list B below. LIST Document description First Applicant Second Applicant A B Valid Passport Valid Driving Licence Official Tax Notification (which must be less than 12 months old) from the Inland Revenue, such as tax assessment form, statement of account, notification of coding or entitlement to tax credits. (Please note P45 and P60 are not Inland Revenue documents and will not be accepted for this purpose). Current Council Tax Bill less than 12 months old Utility Bill (e.g. electric, gas, water) less than 3 months old Bank or Building Society statement less than 3 month old Credit card statement less than 3 months old Official Tax Notification (details as in LIST A BUT this cannot be used to confirm both your name and address). FOR OFFICE USE ONLY: I have seen original documents as ticked above. Signature: Job title: Date:
HOME IMPROVEMENT LOAN FREUENTLY ASKED UESTIONS What are Home Improvement Loans? A home improvement loan is a short to medium term interest free loan for applicants to make their homes warm, safe and / or secure. There is no automatic entitlement to the loan. Who can apply for a Home Improvement Loan? This type of assistance is discretionary and is available to: Owner occupiers Landlords (Individuals and companies) Charities / Third Sector What fees are applicable to the Loan? An administration fee will be required to cover the costs of processing your application, the maximum fee will be 15% of the loan value, and this can be added to the loan amount or be paid upfront How much can I apply for? The minimum loan amount is 1,000 up to a maximum of 25,000 per unit of accommodation, up to a maximum of 150,000 per applicant at any time. If you are applying for a loan to convert one building into four units of accommodation the maximum loan you can apply for is 100,000. If you were applying for a loan to convert a property into ten units the maximum amount of loan would be 150,000. The actual value of the loan approved will also be dependent on the actual cost of the works, e.g. if the works are calculated to cost 10,000 this is the most the loan will be approved for. Please note that any loan offered, taking into account any existing mortgage cannot exceed 80% of the current property value. Therefore, if you have an existing mortgage of 65,000 on a property with a current market value of 100,000, then the maximum loan that can be approved is 15,000 Current Value 100,000 Mortgage & Loan 65,000 & 15,000 = 80,000 (Maximum 80% Loan to value) It is possible in certain cases for another property to be used as security for the loan. Where the cost of the works exceed the value of the loan, then the applicant must be able to show that they have adequate funds to complete the development. 15
How long do I have to repay the Loan? Repayment terms for owner occupiers will be agreed on a case by case basis up to a maximum loan term of 10 years. Landlords, Developers and Charities must repay the loan within a maximum loan term of 5 years. All loans can be repaid earlier if the applicant wishes to do so. Do the works / conversion have to be carried out to any sort of standards? Yes. All work must be carried out in accordance with any planning permissions or building regulation approvals made in respect of the property. Are there any conditions attached to approving the loan? Yes: You must carry out the conversion/repair works within an agreed time period. The loan must be repaid either on or before the date as specified in your Loan Facility Agreement. A financial charge will be made on the property for the lifetime of the loan. Are the loans secured loans? Yes. All loans approved must be secured by a first or second financial charge being secured against the property. If there is an existing mortgage on the property we will need the lenders consent to secure our charge. What is the interest rate for the loan? The loans are interest free, providing there is no default on the loan. Where any sum is required to be paid, but is not repaid in accordance with the loan conditions, a breach of conditions will have occurred. In such instances Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council may demand immediate repayment of the loan and interest at the national standard rate. If you would like to discuss your property or require further clarification, then please do not hesitate to contact the Housing & Environmental Health Section by: Tel: 01495 357813 E-mail: environmental.health@blaenau-gwent.gov.uk 10
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