Communities Secretary Greg Clark has launched a £26 million fund for housebuilders to apply for to produce homes for First time buyers, giving a boost to the government’s starter homes initiative.
What is the fund for and how will it help build houses for First time buyers?
The fund will support the building industry to start providing well designed starter homes and they can be provided by local councils or housing associations as well as the private sector.
The money is to go towards purchasing brownfield sites and once built and sold, the proceeds from the sale of the sites will go back to the government. As brownfield sites may have quite high clearance costs before anyone can build a further £10 million will be made available too.
Communities Secretary Greg Clark said:
"This competitive fund will build homes that will clearly show the wide range of new properties that will be available for first-time buyers as they take their first step on the housing ladder.
Housing Minister Brandon Lewis said:
"This fund will help kick-start .....change and show young people across the country the quality they can expect when they buy a starter home."
What changes are being made in the new Housing Bill to make sure starter homes are provided?
The government’s new Housing Bill and changes to planning aim to build hundreds of thousands of starter homes.
The intention is local authorities will proactively deliver starter homes by releasing underused brownfield sites and enabling local communities to allocate land for the properties via neighbourhood plans.
What's important about this is that if you want to buy a home, up until now you may have felt you have no 'control' or 'influence' over what happens, but you and other people in your community now have a right to take part in what is built locally, so talk to your local parish council and contact your local authority to find out more about how you can influence building property which you can afford to live in.
Bear in mind 82% of local authorities (274) have published Local Plans with 64% (214) adopting them - so find out what your council is up to housing wise!
And if your local council hasn't done their local plan by 2017, the government will work with you to write one for them!
So if you want to buy or rent an affordable home.....get involved, it really is possible to influence what is built in your area and if you have any problems being heard, then contact me!
How does the Starter Home Scheme work?
The First Time Buyer Home Show
The First Time Buyer Home Show is to be held at The Business Design Centre, 52 Upper Street, Islington, London from 10am until 5pm on Saturday, 10th October 2015.
This is a great show where I run my property clinics on a one to one basis, so you can come along and ask me any questions you have - or worries, especially if you are struggling to buy or rent at the moment.
There are tonnes of options available now for you to buy your first home and you don't need to save tens of thousands for a deposit as there are so many shared ownership properties being built across London, that there will be a lot of stock to pitch for in the future.
And even better you can meet the lovely TV celebrity Nicki Chapman who really does know about property and is a smashing person who genuinely cares about helping you to get on the housing ladder.
For more help with buying, selling and investing in property, sign up for FREE to access all of our property checklists, including:-
First time buyer quick guide
Buying a shared ownership property
Benefits of buying a new build
Help to Buy – new build
Help to Buy - existing home
Analysing a buy to let
Selling a property
