Affordable housing should:
- meet the needs of eligible households including availability at a cost low enough for them to afford, determined with regards to local incomes and local house prices
- include provision for the home to remain at an affordable price for future eligible households or, if these provisions are lifted, for the subsidy to be recycled for alternative housing provision
Allocating affordable housing
The main way of accessing affordable housing is via North Yorkshire Home Choice. They are the choice-based lettings system for the allocation of affordable housing across North Yorkshire.
For more information, and how to apply for an affordable home, visit the North Yorkshire Home Choice website.
Social rented housing
Social rented housing is rented housing owned and managed by local authorities and registered providers, otherwise known as housing associations, for which guideline target rents are determined through the national rent regime
It may also include rented housing owned or managed by others and provided under equivalent rental arrangements to the above, as agreed with the local authority or with Homes England as a condition of grant. You can find out more about Homes England on the Government website.
Affordable rented
This is rented housing let by registered providers of social housing to households who are eligible for social rented housing. Affordable rent is not subject to the national rent regime but is subject to other rent controls that require a rent of no more than 80 per cent of the local market rent. This is capped by the local housing allowance rate.
Intermediate affordable
This is housing at prices and rents above those of social rent, but below market price or rents, and which meet the criteria. This can include low-cost home ownership, such as shared ownership, shared equity products, such as Home Buy, and intermediate rent, or rent to buy, but does not include affordable rented housing.
Affordability
In the case of social rented accommodation, social rents are set in accordance with the national rent restructuring guidelines.
In the case of affordable rent, they are capped by the local housing allowance rate.
And in the case of intermediate affordable housing, we use one of a number of recognised definitions of affordability based on gross household income. An owner-occupied or intermediate tenure property is generally considered to be unaffordable if it costs more than 3.5 times the gross household income.
How affordable housing is provided
Affordable housing is provided mainly through housing associations in the Scarborough area.
All council housing stock was transferred to Yorkshire Coast Homes in 2003.
Housing associations develop both affordable housing for rent and low-cost home ownership in the area. The vast majority of the low-cost home ownership is shared ownership. The principal provider is Beyond Housing - formed in October 2018 following a merger of Yorkshire Coast Homes and Coast and Country Housing. With more than 4,500 rented homes, Beyond Housing is the largest provider of affordable homes in the area.
Other providers currently include:
- Sanctuary Housing Association
- Home Housing Group
- York Housing Association
- Broadacres Housing Association
- Thirteen Group
- Together Group
- Yorkshire Housing
Other ways homes are provided
Homes are provided through:
- the disposal of council-owned land to housing associations to develop affordable housing schemes
- section 106 planning obligations, which require housing developers to provide a percentage of a new housing development for affordable housing.
- the provision of grant from section 106 commuted sums to housing associations in certain circumstances to support affordable housing development
- grants from the community housing fund are also used to support the development of community-led housing
The rural housing enabler
We also employ a rural housing enabler to support the development of affordable housing in rural settlements.
Our rural housing enabler works closely with the local communities, parish councils and housing associations to develop much-needed affordable housing in rural settlements.
By working with local people and housing associations they help provide affordable housing to enable local people on modest incomes to stay in their village and sustain communities.
A key tool for delivering these homes is the rural exception site policy outlined in the national planning policy framework. This allows affordable housing to be developed on sites within or next to villages that would not otherwise be permitted, provided that it meets a proven local need. Such schemes must be sympathetic to the character of a village and remain affordable for local people.
The rural housing enabler has the skills and expertise to:
- undertake parish wide surveys to assess local housing need
- work with the parish council and others, such as housing associations, to explore ways of meeting identified housing need
- liaise with landowners and local authority housing and planning departments to identify possible sites
- facilitate community consultations
- help to secure funding for affordable housing
- act as an honest broker between parties as the project progresses, ensuring that the community is able to participate
Over the last 12 years the rural housing enabler has helped to develop more than 100 new affordable homes across a number of villages, mainly in the national park, including:
- Glaisdale
- Egton
- Lythe
- Hinderwell
Work currently involves the development of new schemes in villages including Staithes and Grosmont housing needs surveys in Fylingdales and Danby.