An investigation has found that people who earn north of £30,000 have been told they do not have enough money to meet the requirements for affordable housing schemes.
The Mayor of London’s take on the national scheme is aimed at helping those on low and modest income get on the housing ladder in the capital.
But a report by the BBC on Tuesday found that even those above the mean UK salary of £33,402 were being hard-pressed to be included.
This is the backstory.
What is the affordable housing scheme?
The scheme offers three main options to applicants: Shared Ownership, Help To Buy, and First Dibs for Londoners. The website also offers a search covering discounted properties.
What are the options available to people looking to get involved?
Shared ownership
The ‘part buy, part rent’ allows first-time buyers a chance to get on the property market without needing to fork out for a whole mortgage.
Under the scheme, you can buy at least a 25 per cent share in a home and pay a regulated rent to the freeholder on the remaining share.
You are eligible if you have a gross household income of no more than £90,000 a year, are an existing shared owner, do not already own a home or have sold your home before your purchase, or are unable to buy a property that suits your needs on the open market.
You can apply for a home through a scheme called ‘home ownership for people with long-term disability’ as part of the scheme. Another offshoot is the ‘older people’s shared ownership scheme for those aged 55 or over’.
Help to Buy
To be eligible for this scheme, you need to look for a new build that is advertised as Help to Buy by a Help to Buy registered housing provider. It must have a maximum price of £600,000.
The Help to Buy scheme is an equity loan provided by the Government where you are lent up to 40 per cent of the cost of a home — leaving you to pay a five per cent deposit and a 50 per cent mortgage to make up the rest.
First Dibs for Londoners
This is a voluntary scheme where developers and housing associations commit to restricting the marketing and sales of certain new-build market sale properties in London.
The offer gives Londoners a head start of up to a month at the beginning of the three-month period, where homes will only be sold to those who live or work in the capital.
What has the BBC investigation uncovered?
The BBC found from looking through adverts of so-called ‘affordable housing’ that 28 out of 40 listings did not give a minimum income requirement.
But 11 of the 12 that did state that the minimum income criteria is between £30,000 and £60,000 —with the outlier being £27,750. The average salary in London is £34,000.
The BBC said the Department for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities had been approached for a response.
