AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROVISION
The Council has produced a policy to provide clear guidance on affordable housing units for our partners. This takes into account:-
- The current Local Plan Alteration No 2.
- The Housing Need identified in our 2004 housing needs survey (a Strategic Housing Market Assessment and new Housing Needs Survey will be completed during 2008).
- Regular assessments of our Common Housing Register.
- Consideration of government and Housing Corporation guidance on housing issues.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING POLICY
The Council is committed to understanding its local housing market and the housing needs of the district and produces 5-yearly Housing Strategies to ensure that those needs are met in a planned way.
The Council is committed to deliver a range of affordable housing to meet the identified needs of the district. This will include general needs housing, local needs housing, and supported housing for those who have specific housing requirements.
The Council currently has a target to deliver 700 affordable homes, either built or in the development pipeline, between 2004 and 2009.
Housing Need
- The Council will undertake regular Strategic Housing Market Assessments and where appropriate Housing Needs Surveys to ensure that it has a comprehensive understanding of the local housing market and housing need across all tenures.
Definition of Affordable Housing
- “Affordable “housing is that provided, with subsidy for people who are unable to resolve their housing needs in the local private sector market because of the relationship between housing costs and income”.
Affordable Housing Tenures
- Social rented - Usually owned and managed by a Registered Social Landlord (RSL) or the local council. The objective is that all rented dwellings will be let on target rents, either on a secure tenancy if let through the council, or an assured tenancy, where let through a registered social landlord.
- Shared ownership - The occupier buys a portion of the equity of the property. A rent is charged on the equity retained by the RSL or Developer. There are a number of Shared Ownership models. The smallest percentage share purchased may be as little as 25%, but in most cases is 50%. In the majority of shared ownership schemes the purchaser can acquire further shares, as and when they can afford to do so, to the point where they may eventually own their home outright. This is known as 'staircasing' – see below. The rent element is a maximum of 3% of the equity retained by the RSL or Developer.
- The types of shared ownership are:
- Staircasing allowed to 100% full ownership, with a rent charge.
Staircasing restricted to a set percentage level, say 80%, with a rent charge.
Shared equity housing - Equity Share schemes are different from Shared Ownership schemes because: -
- No rent is paid to the RSL or developer on the percentage of the equity retained by them.
- There is no ability for the occupier to staircase.
- There is always a fixed equity.
Affordable Housing Standards
- New affordable housing should be built to Housing Corporation Design & Quality standards and as a minimum to the Code for Sustainable Homes - level 3.
- In design terms the affordable housing provided on any open market development should be indistinguishable from the open market properties.
Management of Affordable Housing
- The Council encourages all affordable housing to be owned and managed by one of the Council’s Registered Social Landlord partners.
- The Council will consider other providers who comply with Planning Policy Statement 3 and have attained Housing Corporation Accreditation for managing affordable housing.
Affordable Housing Delivery – Open Market Sites
- On developments in settlements with over 3000 population up to 35% affordable housing must be provided on sites of 15 dwellings or more, or 0.5 hectares or more.* (Local Plan Policy HS08)
- On developments in villages of 3000 population or less the Council will seek to negotiate on a site to site basis affordable housing of up to 35% on all windfall sites capable of providing 3 units or more.* (Local Plan Policy HS09)
- On developments in villages of 3000 population or less a commuted sum will be payable on sites producing 2 dwellings or less where the site could accommodate 3 dwellings or more.
Affordable Housing Delivery - Rural Exceptions Sites
- The Council will support applications for rural exceptions schemes in principle, in villages with a population of less than 3000, where local housing need is identified and proven, and it is intended to develop affordable housing for local people in perpetuity. The criteria set out in the Local Plan in such circumstances should be noted. (Local Plan Policies HS06/7)
- The Council prefers to bring forward a rural exceptions site with the agreement of the local Parish Council, as it is essential that the local community is fully supportive of such development.
Affordable Housing Delivery – Babergh Owned Sites
- The Council is committed to identifying and making available its own land, at up to a 100% discount, for the delivery of new affordable housing. The Council will transfer approved sites to its partner Registered Social Landlords in return for 100% nomination rights in perpetuity.
Affordable Housing Tenure Mix
- 75% of the affordable housing on each planning obligation site must be for rent.*
- 25% of the affordable housing on each planning obligation site must be for shared ownership or equity share.*
- A proportion of the open market dwellings on sites of 0.1 hectares or more, and that can accommodate at least 5 dwellings, should be in the form of smaller units of accommodation, in the form of 1 and 2 bedroom dwellings. The emphasis should be on 2 bedroom dwellings.* (LP Policy HS34)
- For rural exceptions sites, Babergh land and other non-planning obligations sites the Affordable Housing Team will agree an appropriate tenure mix according to the identified housing need for the location, any planning restrictions on the site, and the views of its partners.
Social Housing Grant
- Affordable housing on planning obligations sites must be provided without Social Housing Grant. This means that developers should consider the costs of providing affordable housing in the format detailed above, together with other appropriate planning obligations, when negotiating the purchase price of land within the district.
- Only in very exceptional circumstances will an application for Social Housing Grant (SHG), be supported for planning obligations developments. These will only be cases where ‘additionality’ is demonstrated – this means that the SHG required will deliver additional elements to the affordable housing; for example an increase in the total number of affordable units, or a higher number of rented units than the usual 75%, or an improvement in the Design and Quality standards of the units, or their Code for Sustainable Homes rating.
Commuted Sums
- Commuted sums are only accepted in place of the provision of affordable housing on site in very exceptional circumstances. If it is agreed by the Council that affordable housing should not be provided on site, the developer will be expected to identify and acquire an alternative site in close proximity to their main development, on which the affordable housing must be provided. If it is agreed that none of these options are possible, only then will a commuted sum be negotiated.
- Commuted sums accepted by the Council in lieu of affordable housing will be spent according to the terms set down in the relevant S106 agreement, and used to fund new affordable housing schemes according to this policy.
- A Supplementary Planning Guide is available for your information, which details the full policy and procedure for commuted sums.
Allocation of Affordable Housing
- Affordable housing on planning obligation sites will be available for allocation to anyone on the Council’s Common Housing Register and will be made in accordance with the Council’s adopted lettings criteria.
- Affordable housing on Rural Exceptions sites will be allocated according to the terms and conditions set down in the relevant S106 agreement for that site, and will be made to those who meet the appropriate local connection criteria to that scheme.
- Affordable housing developed on Babergh land may be designated as general needs housing, and therefore allocated to anyone on the Council’s Common Housing Register. Otherwise it may be designated as a local needs housing scheme when allocations will be undertaken according to the rural exceptions site allocations criteria.
- Each scheme will have a nomination agreement in place detailing the type of scheme and the appropriate allocations criteria.
* Any variation of the above figures will only be considered in exceptional circumstances.
Please note that this policy is under constant review, therefore it is recommended that the detailed requirements of an individual scheme is discussed with the Affordable Housing Team.
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