Article: Affordable Housing Article Body Affordable Housing Affordable Housing is designed for households who are unable to meet their housing requirements through the open market, either through owner-occupation or renting in the private sector. The cost of either renting or buying affordable housing is lower than in the private sector. The main types of affordable housing are: • Housing to rent - such housing is providers by "social landlords", largely local councils and housing associations. Barnsley MBC has some 19,000 council homes across the Borough which are managed by Berneslai Homes. In addition a number of housing associations have properties for rent in the Borough. More information on this is provided in the section below on Access to Affordable Housing in Barnsley. • Low cost home ownership - a variety of government-backed schemes are available including Homebuy and the recently introduced FirstBuy scheme. In Barnsley access to this type of housing is mediated through an organisation called Plumlife (who are the HomeBuy agent for the South Yorkshire region). For more information click on http://www.plumlife.co.uk/ownership-schemes.aspx or go to the sections below on Homebuy Schemes in Barnsley and the FirstBuy Scheme. Low cost home ownership schemes tend to be either of the shared ownership or shared equity variety - for a brief explanation of the difference between these products click here. A number of Homebuy schemes are under development in Barnsley - to find out more about these go to the HomeBuy Schemes in Barnsley section below. Access to Affordable Housing in Barnsley There are two main providers of affordable housing in Barnsley: The Council: There are some 19,000 council homes across the Borough. Berneslai Homes manage council housing on behalf of the Council, including applications for council housing. If you would like to apply for council housing in Barnsley please go to the Berneslai Homes website for more information or alternatively you can contact Barnsley Connects on 01226 775555 or go into any of the Barnsley Connects offices. Housing Associations: There are approximately 3,100 housing association homes across the Borough. The Council have nomination agreements with nine partner Housing Associations operating in the Borough. This means that Barnsley Council arranges 100% of first lettings for new build homes and 50% of subsequent lettings for people on the local authority's housing waiting list. Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council has five main strategic partners. These are all organisations who generally work in specific zones of Barnsley, and in partnership with the Council to build a range of new affordable housing. For a full list of new accommodation being built in Barnsley please see the link below: Affordable housing being built in Barnsley • South Yorkshire Housing Association • Chevin Housing Association (Part of the Together Housing Group) • Yorkshire Housing • Equity Housing Association • Guinness Northern Counties Housing Association The remaining four partners all have a smaller number of properties in the Borough, some for a more specialist supported housing need. They are not building new homes in the Borough at the moment. • Sanctuary Housing Association • Hanover Housing Association • Habinteg Housing Association • Leeds and Yorkshire Housing Association To apply for any shared ownership properties please contact the Housing Association direct on the links provided above. Riverside ECHG and Sanctuary Carr Gomm Housing Association both have a very small number of accommodation units in the borough, these are supported housing for vulnerable groups only. For supported accommodation, Barnsley Council nominates 100% of all vacancies through social services. HomeBuy Schemes in Barnsley • Burntwood Road, mixed development, Grimethorpe The scheme will be on Burntwood Road and will provide a mix of housing types and tenures. A total of 24x 2 and 3 bed houses to be let, of which 2x2 bed houses will be for intermediate rent to be let through Berneslai Homes Housing Register. A further 10x4 bed houses for affordable sale will be provided under the HomeBuy initiative details of which can be accessed either from Yorkshire Housing or via Plumlife website where an application form can be completed online. • Former Yorkshire Traction site, Barnsley, Phase 1 The Traction site will provide 16 HomeBuy Direct units comprising of 6x3 bed Houses and 10x4 Houses, application to Persimmon Homes or via Plumlife. FirstBuy Schemes in Barnsley This is a new government backed scheme designed to break the deadlock in the mortgage market which has seen the number of loans approved for first times buyers collapse as lenders require larger deposits. FirstBuy offers first-time buyers the opportunity to purchase 100% of a newly built home, through an equity loan of up to 20 per cent of the property price, funded jointly by the government's Homes and Communities Agency and the house building company. This equity loan also reduces the deposit required from the buyer to, in some cases, just 4 per cent, making home-ownership easier. Nationally, £180 million has been allocated to the scheme, and more than 100 house-builders are taking part. Increasing the amount of affordable housing in Barnsley is also a priority for the council, as it will boost regeneration and economic growth in the borough. Nearly 400 homes in 17 housing developments in Barnsley are eligible for purchase by first time buyers through FirstBuy. These include developments at Bretton Park, Monk Bretton and Saunderson Gardens, Penistone (Barratt), Herons Reach, Wombwell (Bellway), The Ridge, Jump (Persimmon Homes), Time, Longcar Lane, Barnsley (Strata) and Little Wellthorne, Ingbirchworth (Bovis). Prospective first-time buyers should register their interest in purchasing a new home through FirstBuy by contacting, Plumlife, the not-for-profit company administering the scheme. Visit www.plumlife.co.uk or call 0161 446 5050. Contact Write: Affordable Housing Enabling Officer Strategy, Growth and Regeneration PO Box 603 Barnsley South Yorkshire S70 9FD Tel: 01226 772718 Email: affordablehousing@barnsley.gov.uk Opening Times: Monday to Thursday: 09:00am to 05:00pm Friday: 09:00am to 04:30pm For further contact details please see the Your Guide to Housing Associations leaflet. Related Information The Council Housing homepage The Supported Housing homepage Affordable Housing being built in Barnsley