Affordable Housing Development

Housing Development
Details of how the Council enables the development of affordable housing can be found on this page along with details of the current development programme of affordable housing in the North Norfolk area.

All Affordable Housing Development is allocated from our Common Housing Register, to apply please complete the Housing Application Form (Word, 182kb). Please note North Norfolk is an area of very high housing demand which means that not all households applying to us will be housed and most of those who are will have had a considerable wait.

The Council set a target in 2004 to develop 75 affordable properties a year, and this target was revised in 2006 to develop 270 affordable properties over the next three years.

In 2006/07, our target was exceeded, with 108 completed affordable properties:

• 82 homes for rent
• 26 homes for sale on a shared ownership basis

The programme for 2007/08 is expected to deliver:

• 49 homes for rent
• 13 homes for sale on a shared ownership basis

Whilst this is below our interim target of 90 per year, we are still confident that we will meet our target to deliver 270 affordable properties by 2009.

For further details of some of the new developments, please see below. Please note that the programme is subject to change and will be updated from time to time.

Rural Housing - Exception Policy
In order to meet housing need in villages the Council, in conjunction with a number of Housing Associations, has developing an ongoing programme to provide new affordable homes through Exception Housing Schemes under Policy 57 of the Local Plan. The policy allows an affordable housing scheme to be built on land that would not otherwise be permitted for residential development. Please click here for PDF (198Kb) on the Exception Housing Scheme.

All new homes built through the Exceptions Policy will be let using the Local Lettings Agreement which gives households in housing need with a local connection priority for the new homes. All properties to rent and for shared ownership will be available to households on the Common Housing Register.

Exception Housing Schemes have been provided in:

Hindolveston
Broadland Housing Association
4 x 2 bedroom bungalows, 3 x 2 bedroom houses, 3 x 3 bedroom houses, 1 x 4 bedroom house for rent
4 x 3 bedroom houses for shared ownership
Completed: February 2006

Binham
North Norfolk Housing Trust
3 x 2 bedroom houses, 2 x 3 bedroom houses, 1 x 4 bedroom house, 3 x 2 bedroom bungalow for rent
Completed: April 2006

Northrepps
North Norfolk Housing Trust
4 x 2 bedroom houses, 3 x 3 bedroom house, 1 x 4 bedroom house to rent
Completed: September 2006

Great Ryburgh
Wherry Housing Association
2 x 2 bedroom flats, 5 x 2 bedroom houses, 2 x 3 bedroom houses to rent
Completed: November 2006

Roughton
Wherry Housing Association
2 x 2 bedroom flats, 1 x 2 bedroom bungalow, 2 x 3 bedroom bungalows, 1 x 4 bedroom houses for rent
1 x 2 bedroom bungalow, 4 x 2 bedroom houses, 2 x 3 bedroom bungalows for shared ownership
Completed: February 2007

Bodham
Housing Association
2 x 2 bedroom flats, 1 x 3 bedroom houses, 5 x 2 bedroom houses for rent
1 x 2 bedroom house and 1 x 3 bedroom house for shared ownership
Expected completion date: January 2008

Need help getting on the housing ladder?

House prices in North Norfolk have increased in recent years, leaving many people unable to afford a property for sale on the open market. As part of our Housing Strategy we are continuing to develop schemes to enable households to get a step on the housing ladder.

We have produced a booklet, the Affordable Housing Home Ownership Guide (pdf, 1.2 Mb) which gives information on two schemes that may help you become a homeowner - Shared Ownership and Open Market HomeBuy.

What is Shared Ownership?

Shared Ownership is also called "New Build HomeBuy" and "part rent and part buy". Under this scheme, a Housing Association buys a property or builds a property and then sells a share of the property. The initial share that is sold is typically 50% although lower shares are now being offered. The shared owner pays rent on the share that the Housing Association owns. After a set period you can choose to increase the amount of the property that you own, and you can even choose to buy all of the share that the Housing Association owns. The more of the property that you own the less rent you will pay.

Some properties may have a restriction which means you will not be able to buy 100% of the property but this will be made clear before a property is sold.

Although a Housing Association will own part of the property, it is not responsible for repairs or maintenance. The Housing Association will, however, insure the building.

What is Open Market Homebuy?

Open Market HomeBuy is a method to help applicants to purchase an existing property that is for sale on the open market through the government's HomeBuy Agent for this area, Orbit First Step. There are now two types of Open Market Homebuy.

Option 1: two equity loans of 12.5% - from one of four participating lenders, and one from Orbit First Step - will fund 25% of the purchase price of a property. The remaining 75% is funded through a conventional mortgage from the same participating mortgage provider. There is no interest or rent to pay on either equity loan for the first five years, but interest on the equity loan from the mortgage lender will be charged at 3% after this.
Option 2: an interest-free loan from Orbit First Step will provide up to a maximum of 17.5% of the purchase price of an existing property. However, the remaining 82.5% of the purchase price is funded through a conventional mortgage from any qualified mortgage lender.

No interest is due on the loan from Orbit First Step. The equity loans may be repaid at any stage, but must be repaid if you sell the property.

More information about Open Market HomeBuy is available from Orbit First Step - visit http://www.orbit.org.uk/ or call 08458 50 20 50 for an information pack.

Am I eligible?

You will be eligible if:

• You are in housing need, and therefore eligible to join our Common Housing Register
  AND
• The property you are looking for will be your main residence
• You cannot afford to buy a property for sale on the open market.

If you do not currently live in North Norfolk, you may still be considered for our schemes, but households who live in North Norfolk will be given priority for HomeBuy and shared ownership schemes in North Norfolk.

Please bear in mind that even if you are eligible there is no guarantee that you can be helped through these schemes as there are limited numbers of new shared ownership properties available in any year. Funding for Open Market Homebuy is also limited. If you are nominated by the Council to a Housing Association for shared ownership or HomeBuy the Housing Association will check that you can afford to purchase a property under these schemes.

How do I apply?
If you are not already on the Council's waiting list, you will need to complete a Common Housing Register Application form Housing Application form (Word, 182kb) remembering to tick that you wish to be registered for Shared Ownership on page 9.

If you are already on the Common Housing Register please contact Strategic Housing on (01263) 516205 or 516069 so that your application can be updated.

Shared Ownership Properties

Information on all new properties will automatically be sent to you if you are on the Housing Register, and have expressed an interest in shared ownership.

New and recent Shared Ownership schemes are listed below. However, resales of shared ownership properties may arise at any time - please call us on (01263) 516300 for full details about all available properties.

NEW! Bodham (Hart Lane)
Broadland Housing Association
2 x 2 bedroom houses
Completion due: January 2008
Please note: as an Exception Housing Scheme, households with a local connection to Bodham and the adjoining parishes (excluding Holt) will be prioritised. It will not be possible to purchase more than 80% of these properties.

Shared Ownership schemes have also been provided in:
Fakenham (The Drift)
Wherry Housing Association
3 x 2 bedroom houses, 1 x 3 bedroom house
Completion due: October 2007

North Walsham (Sadlers Way)
North Norfolk Housing Trust
3 x 2 bedroom houses, 4 x 3 bedroom houses
Completion due: October 2007

Cromer (Cabbell Road)
Wherry Housing Association
6 x 2 bedroom flats, 2 x 3 bedroom flats
Completed: May 2005

North Walsham (Howlett Close)
Broadland Housing Association
5 x 2 bedroom houses
Completed: October 2006

North Walsham (Arnold Pitcher Close)
North Norfolk Housing Trust
2 x 2 bedroom houses, 2 x 3 bedroom houses
Completed: January 2007

Mundesley (Anson Close)
Wherry Housing Association
8 x 2 bedroom houses, 7 x 3 bedroom houses
Completed: November 2006

Roughton (St Marys Close)
Wherry Housing Association
1 x 2 bedroom house bungalow, 4 x 2 bedroom houses, 2 x 3 bedroom houses
Completed: March 2007.

Key Worker Accommodation
The following help is available:
• 'Equity loans' of up to £50,000 to help key workers buy a home on the open market or a new property built by a registered social landlord.
• Higher-value equity loans of up to £100,000 for a small group of school teachers with the potential to become leaders of London's education system in the future.
• Shared ownership of newly-built properties. (You buy at least 25% of the home and pay a reduced rent on the remaining share).
• 'Intermediate renting' where the rent is set at a level between that charged by social and private landlords.
To find out if you can get help and how to apply for it, you need to contact the zone agent that covers the area you work in. The contact for the North Norfolk area is:

Orbit First Step
Phone: 08458 50 20 50
Web site: www.orbit.org.uk/ofs
Further details about Key Worker schemes can be found on the government Communities and Local Government website, www.communities.gov.uk
(to go directly to the Key Worker pages click here)