Affordable Housing - Intermediate Rent
What is intermediate rent and how does it work?
WDH have a small number of newly built properties available to rent on a short term
basis. As the property is intended for shared ownership, the rent you will pay is an
'intermediate rent' and represents approximately 80% of the market rent. This means
that the rents, and any rent increases, are above the normal WDH social rent levels but
below market rent, for example, if the market rent is £100 a month you will pay £80 a
month. This will allow you to rent the new property at a lower rent to enable you to save
a deposit to buy at a later date wherever possible.
The properties are offered on an Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement.
When the tenancy period ends, you will be served notice to end the tenancy, however,
as the tenant of the property you will be offered first refusal to buy a share in the
property, if you can afford to do so. If you are not in a position to do so, your tenancy
will terminate and you will have to vacate the property.
Who is eligible to apply?
Intermediate rents form part of the Governments affordable housing programme and so
if you are interested in renting a property, you will need to make sure that you are
eligible to do so. You will need to complete an online application from the Local
HomeBuy Agent, my4walls and you can do this by going to www.my4walls.org.uk.
My4walls will assess your application and provide you with a letter of approval to
proceed if you qualify. When you receive this letter please contact OneCALL on
0845 8 507 507 who will connect you to the relevant department to process your
application to the next stage.
To be eligible for the scheme you need to:
- Be 18 years or over.
- Have a household's total income of less than £60,000 and must be unable to afford to buy a suitable property on the open market without assistance.
- Be in full time employment and be able to afford 80% of the local market rent without further assistance. That means you are not claiming any Housing Benefit.
- Have your application formally assessed by the Local HomeBuy Agent, my4walls.
- Be considering making a commitment to enter home ownership through low cost home ownership products in the short to medium term (within five years) and be able to demonstrate how the discounted rent will enable you to save a deposit.
Having done the assessment to make sure that the applicant can afford the rent, and
there is more than one eligible applicant, the successful applicant will be chosen by
applying the prioritisation criteria set out by the Homes and Community Agency (HCA):
- Existing social tenants;
- Those who can avoid the need for social tenancies, for example those on housing waiting lists and considered by local authorities to be in priority housing need (those in Band A or B on Homesearch);
- Those that will address housing problems in local and regional housing markets, for example key workers and then other first time buyers; and
- Lastly, in order of date of application received by My4Walls (an additional WDH criteria).
How much would I need to save for a deposit?
The chart below gives an indication of monthly savings required to meet a 10% to 20%
deposit, however this is based on current house valuations, which may potentially
increase over a three to five year period.
| % Deposit |
Market Value |
Equity Share |
3 Year Monthly Savings |
5 Year Monthly Savings |
| 10% |
£120,000 |
50% |
£166.66 |
£100.00 |
| 15% |
£120,000 |
50% |
£250.00 |
£150.00 |
| 20% |
£120,000 |
50% |
£333.33 |
£200.00 |
| 10% |
£130,000 |
50% |
£180.55 |
£108.33 |
| 15% |
£130,000 |
50% |
£270.83 |
£162.50 |
| 20% |
£130,000 |
50% |
£361.11 |
£216.66 |
In addition to the deposit, potential buyers will need approximately, £2,500 to cover the costs of buying a new home.
Available Properties