Affordable housing

What affordable housing is, types of affordable housing, who provides it and how you can rent or buy an affordable home.

What affordable housing is

Affordable housing is low cost housing for people who can’t afford to rent or buy in the usual way. This can include:

• first time buyers
• people who are unable to get on the property ladder
• people who want to rent a home but can’t afford to pay market rents

Affordable housing is housing at a price low enough for people to afford in relation to their income and the local housing prices.

Affordable rented homes

Affordable rented housing includes:

• social rented properties
• affordable rented properties
• intermediate rented properties

Social rented properties

Social rented properties usually have the lowest rents. Some social rented housing is owned by us and some by registered providers, such as housing associations.

Affordable rented properties

These properties are more expensive than social rented properties but the rent is usually controlled so it’s not more than 80% of local market rents. Some affordable rented housing is owned by us and some by registered providers, such as housing associations.

Intermediate rented properties

These properties are more expensive than social rented properties but the rent is usually controlled so it’s not more than 80% of local market rents. Intermediate rented properties are usually owned by housing associations and let on an assured shorthold tenancy.

Find an affordable rented home

Register with Home Choice Bristol to find an affordable rented home in Bristol.

Own your own affordable home

You can get help to buy your own affordable home. For example:

• shared ownership
• Help to Buy scheme
• Rentplus

Shared ownership

When you buy a shared ownership property, you use a mortgage to buy a percentage of the property, usually between 25 and 75%. You then pay rent on the remaining percentage, either to the housing association or private developer who owns the property. Sometimes you can increase how much of the property you own.

Find out about shared ownership schemes on the Help to Buy, South West website.

Help to Buy scheme

The Help to Buy scheme is a government backed scheme where home buyers can borrow up to 20% of the cost of a newly built home. You need a 5% deposit and a 75% mortgage to make up the rest of the cost of the property.

Find out about the Help to Buy scheme on the Help to Buy, South West website.

Rentplus

Through the Rentplus scheme, you can rent a property at 80% of the local market rent and after a few years you’re given the opportunity to buy the property. If you decide to buy, Rentplus will give you a 10% deposit to help you.

Find out more about the Rentplus scheme on the Rentplus website.