Please read this guidance before completing an application for the affordable housing scheme. Submitting an application does not guarantee that you'll be accepted onto the scheme. Your completed application will be assessed against the criteria listed below and you will be notified in writing of our decision.
Affordable housing scheme qualifying criteria
In order to be eligible you must:
- have lived in the Bury borough for the last 6 months or more before applying
- for joint applicants, only one of you must meet this criteria
- have no current or previous rent arrears with the council
- have no history of anti-social behaviour with the council
- agree to use the property as your own main home
- agree to not rent the property out
- agree to tell us when you want to sell or move out
- agree to live in the property throughout your ownership
- not own any other property. If you currently own another property, you must be in the process of selling it before you can get a property on this scheme.
You may not have to be registered on the Affordable Housing Scheme or live in the borough to be eligible for certain properties or developments. Please contact us to check if you're unsure.
If you think you meet the above criteria, you may submit an online application. When applying, you'll be asked for the following information.
About you
- Applicant(s) details: your full name and address, along with details of all other applicants that will be living with you, for example your partner.
- Family members: list all family members, including children, who will live with you in any property offered to you and their relationship to you.
- Contact details: your full contact details, including email address and telephone number.
About your current circumstances
- Current housing arrangements: indicate the type of housing you currently live in, for example private rented.
- Residency: confirm that you have lived within the Bury borough for at least the last six months consecutively.
- Home owners: provide the address(es) of any residential property that you currently own or part own, even if you do not live there.
- Rent arrears: provide details of any current or former rent arrears you have.
- Previous tenancies: give details of any tenancies you have had with the council.
- Ethnicity and religion: indicate your ethnicity and religion, as this helps us monitor the scheme. The information you provide will be treated in confidence.
- Income and savings:
- for us to assess the amount of mortgage and/or rent you can afford under the scheme, we need details of:
- your income and any savings you may have
- your earnings before any deductions for tax, pension and National Insurance contributions (gross annual income)
- any other income you may have, including regular overtime and profit related bonuses.
- the income and savings of any joint applicant.
- you'll also be required to appoint an independent financial advisor to assess your income and savings when you find a property you want to buy, part buy or rent. This is to confirm your eligibility and to check that you can afford your future living costs.
- you must be unable to afford to buy the property or share of the property at its full market value, but be able to afford to buy the property or share of the property at the discounted price or share price, together with the relevant portion of rent if applicable. An administration fee of 1 percent, including VAT, of the discounted market value (full value if shared ownership where properties are not government funded) is payable to the council upon completion of a sale, as a contribution towards the costs associated with the nomination process.
- applicants applying for intermediate rent must have a household income of less than £80,000 per annum.
- assessments will take into account all capital and savings you have, as well as income. You will be required to provide proof of all such capital savings and income. Any capital generated as a result of the sale of an existing property must be included in this assessment. Capital up to £3,000 is disregarded as part of this scheme. Child Benefit and Family Credit are not taken into account when calculating financial eligibility.
- Mortgage and/or rent amount: the amount of mortgage or rent you can pay will largely depend on your income. You are advised to approach an independent financial advisor, bank or building society for guidance. They will calculate the size of mortgage they are prepared to offer you. However, this should not be more than four times your gross annual income or 3.5 times your gross annual income if you are making a joint application.
- Please give details if your home is the subject of a Compulsory Purchase Order.
- Please tell us about any capital investments or equity you have in any other property and, let us know your previous address if you have not lived at your current address for at least the last six months.
- for us to assess the amount of mortgage and/or rent you can afford under the scheme, we need details of:
About your needs
- Agreements:
- you must agree to live in any property offered to you throughout ownership and cannot rent it out.
- you must agree to tell us when you want to sell or move out of the property.
- Declarations:
- you must tell us if you have ever been evicted from a property for anti-social behaviour.
- agree to the declaration and the terms and conditions for the scheme as this confirms your acceptance of the council's 1 percent administration fee which will be charged upon completion of a sale.
- Tenure type: indicate which tenures you're interested in.
- Property types: indicate which property types you'd consider.
- Bedrooms: confirm how many bedrooms you require.
- Area choice: list the areas you'd consider living, in order of preference. Properties may be developed throughout the borough in any of the six townships. You must choose at least one area, but you can choose all six if you wish.
If you need any help with completing the Affordable Housing application form, please contact us.