To celebrate this year’s Housing Day on 18 September, Conservative Sevenoaks District Council highlighted the benefits of shared-ownership housing to help local residents get a foot on the housing ladder.
The Housing Day initiative celebrated the positive impact social housing can have on people across the UK and growing in popularity, shared-ownership enables households on lower and middle incomes the chance of owning a house.
Our Conservative Council currently works with a number of housing associations to develop a wide-range of new shared-ownership housing, though there is another lesser-known option for lower-income families.
The ‘resale option’ offers shared-ownership homes which have gone back on the market, providing another option to new-build shared-ownership properties and enables households on a low or modest income to purchase a share in a home.
In order to qualify for shared-ownership housing, including the resale option, residents should be unable to purchase a home suitable for their needs without assistance and household income cannot exceed £80,000 per annum.
Cllr Michelle Lowe, Sevenoaks District Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing and Health, says: “Housing Day provides a great chance for us to highlight the wide variety of housing options available to people on lower incomes - even in Sevenoaks District.
“Shared-ownership is an excellent option for first-time buyers and others looking to step onto the housing ladder, especially with the re-sale option providing even cheaper homes in the District.
“There are currently around a thousand shared-ownership properties in the District and eleven re-sales available so I would urge interested residents to get in touch quickly.”
Residents are able to check if they qualify for shared-ownership housing and search for current shared-ownership resales in the District, by heading to the Help to Buy Easy & South East website at: www.helptobuyese.org.uk