Homes set to be allocated to working families on a low income

Published by Zoe Guest for Gough Bailey Wright in Housing and also in Communities

bdht, Bromsgrove’s largest provider of affordable housing, is set to announce that 10% of its future vacant properties will be specifically reserved for allocation to working individuals and families on a low income from January.

Local working people work tirelessly to contribute to society and earn a salary, but it is often not enough to own their own home or obtain a mortgage due to the vast difference between their annual income and property prices in the area.

Bromsgrove’s need for affordable housing is acute and the recent Home Truths report published by The National Housing Federation revealed house prices in Bromsgrove are averaging at £237,280*¹. The town is the third most expensive district in the county and sixth most expensive in the West Midlands and with a person’s average income being just £21,991*², people cannot secure a mortgage required to own a property, as the average income required is £50,884*³.

Marie Green, assistant director at bdht said: “We are pleased to be able to allocate 10% of our vacant homes to local working people, especially in such testing economic circumstances.

“We understand the pressures on working people, especially families, with property prices so high in the area and the cost of living rising each day, it is an uphill struggle and an almost impossible task for them to get onto the property ladder.”

She added: “It is also important for us to build mixed communities that have a variety of residents, who will help to shape and develop an area and bring together different age groups, economics and family dynamics.”

The 10% of vacant homes being allocated to employed people is the first of many measures from bdht to support low income workers.

Marie continued: “The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has just published their report looking at poverty and social exclusion *4 it revealed that 60% of child poverty is in working families, and over half of working age people living in poverty are in a working household.  In work poverty has been rising steadily for the last decade and we have committed to support people living in poverty whether on benefits or in work.

“We at bdht  understand that access to affordable housing is much, much more than putting a roof over someone’s head, it is security and stability.  We are helping them to help themselves and supporting them to access decent housing when times get tough is our duty.”

For more information about bdht, please call free phone 0800 0850 160 or visit www.bdht.co.uk

 Notes

 *¹Average (mean) house price 2011 from Land Registry

*² Average (median) incomes 2011 from Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), 2011

*³ Gross annual income needed for a mortgage (75% at 3.5x)

*4 Monitoring Poverty and Social Exclusion 2012 Joseph Rowntree Foundation