Affordable housing
Affordable housing is housing that is sold or let at below market rates. Affordable housing development is where land and funding are secured for the provision of affordable housing.
We work in partnership with housing associations, registered social landlords and other agencies to provide affordable housing and to ensure that we attain and maintain affordable housing across the borough.
A lot of the work centres on negotiating with developers to attain an acceptable percentage of 'affordable' homes from new build and conversion developments within the borough. We liaise very closely with the planning ensuring that any new developments will adhere to the council's planning policies.
Some facts and figures:
Supply and demand figures per annum (based on the last housing needs survey)
- back log of existing need: 2,830 households
- newly arising need: 3,600 households
- 20 per cent quota to reduce backlog: 566 households
- gross affordable housing requirement: 4,166 units
- estimated future supply of affordable housing: 784 units
- net affordable housing requirements: 3,382 units
Our main aims include:
- increasing the supply of housing which is affordable to local people, with a better mix of dwelling types
- developing sustainable new communities in major developments
- making better use of planning policies which require developers to provide affordable housing when they build market housing
- increasing the housing choices available to people with disabilities, including an increased supply of wheelchair accessible housing.
Grant aid is available to both housing associations and private developers to provide affordable housing that meets the investment plans proposed by Regional Housing Boards. The funding is allocated after a competitive bidding process run by the Housing Corporation. All of the expenditure on a range of properties including low cost home ownership, social rented units, key worker homes and homes for people with special needs, is known as the National Affordable Housing Programme.
If you are interested in finding out more about obtaining affordable housing in Brent, and are not already registered on the council's housing register, please visit housing applications or contact us on 020 8937 2000.
For more information about low cost home ownership (intermediate housing) please visit the Low Cost Home Ownerhip and Key Worker pages.
Right to Acquire/Right to Buy
Housing association and local authority tenants also have other means of buying the home they currently live in:
- Right to Acquire, for housing association tenants
- Right to Buy or Preserved Right to Buy, for tenants of council
properties or those that have been transferred from a local authority to a housing association
To check whether you are eligible for any of these schemes you should contact your landlord.