Rent to buy
If you want to own your own home but are struggling to raise a deposit, rent to buy might be for you.
How rent to buy works
You rent a home on a rent to buy development from the owner and pay a monthly rent until you are ready to buy your home.
Once you have bought your home, you will no longer pay rent and are free to sell it whenever you wish.
Depending on when you choose to buy your home, you could be entitled to a discount on the purchase of up to 10% of the property's value.
The purpose of the scheme is to help people into home ownership and to be eligible for a property, you must be intending to buy it in the future
Allocations
We will check all applications against the eligibility criteria. If there more applicants than there are properties available, we will prioritise applicants in the following order:
- Households in housing need as defined by the Housing Allocations Policy
- Households who are in insecure accommodation, for example, renting privately on an assured shorthold tenancy
- Households currently living in social rented housing, for example, renting from the Council or a housing association
- Households who have a work or family related need to live in the area where the property is available
Buying
You will need to pay market value for the property. Market value is defined in the tenancy agreement as the highest of these three figures:
- The market value when you moved into the property
- The market value at the time you tell us you want to start the purchase process
- The original value of the property when it was built
As these are not Council properties, you will not be able to get a Right to Buy discount on the purchase.
If you change your mind about buying, you can either carry on renting it if you keep to the terms of your tenancy agreement, or you can move out after giving us at least 1 months' written notice.
Once you have bought your home, there is no minimum period for which you have to stay there. You are free to sell it outright whenever you wish.
Discount
The discount is equivalent to 50% of the rent you have paid up to the point when you buy the property or 10% of the market value of the property, whichever is lower.
Renting
When you sign the tenancy agreement, you will need to pay the following:
- 1 month's rent (plus a pro-rated amount if you start your tenancy mid-month)
- A bond equivalent to 1 month's rent
- 1 month's service charge if applicable
After that, you will need to pay your rent and any service charge monthly on the first day of each month
Please remember that there will be other moving costs like removals, floor coverings and furnishings. You will need to make sure that you can cover all the costs related to moving home before you commit to renting the property.
Service charge
On some developments you will also need to pay a service charge to cover the cost of maintaining the communal parts of the estate.
The properties are owned by private landlords. Kirklees Council is the managing agent and will be your main point of contact during your tenancy, but you will not be a Council tenant and will not be eligible for the Right to Buy, or a Right to Buy discount when you purchase the property.
You will have an assured shorthold tenancy, often referred to as an AST. The tenancy agreement is initially for 12 months. After 12 months, it will automatically become a periodic tenancy and you can leave at any time by giving us 1 months' notice in writing. You can also stay for as long as you like after the first 12 months provided you keep to the terms of your tenancy agreement.
As a tenant of a private landlord, you will have certain rights and responsibilities. These are set out at Private renting: Your rights and responsibilities
We strongly advise that you also read the guidance on How to rent
Furnishings
Properties will not be furnished. Some properties may benefit from items such as floor coverings and light fittings left by previous tenants which you can keep if you wish.
If you are offered a home, you will have the opportunity to view the property before you decide whether to accept the offer.
Pets
You will be allowed to keep pets provided you first get written consent from the landlord.
Repairs
While you are renting the property, Kirklees Council will carry out any repairs needed to your home free of charge, unless the repair is due to deliberate damage by your household or visitors. If you buy the property, you will be responsible for repairs and maintenance from purchase completion.
Financial difficulties
It is important that you let us know as soon as you can if you are facing financial difficulties so that we can help you. We have an experienced team of Money Advisors who are there to help and support tenants who face financial setbacks. As soon as you sign up for your home you will have access to this support. The most important thing is that you talk to us as soon as you experience money problems.
Eligibility
To be eligible you and any joint applicant must:
- Have been living in Kirklees for at least 6 months before you apply
- Be unable to buy a home due to lack of access to a deposit. This means that you (and any joint applicant) should not have savings (excluding pension) of more than £30,000 and should not have reduced your savings to below £30,000 in the past 12 months
- Be in permanent employment either in Kirklees or within a 10-mile radius of the property you are applying for
- Have a combined annual household income of at least 4 times the annual rent of the property. However, your total income must be less than £60,000.
- Be a first-time buyer
- Intend to purchase the property
- Have leave to remain in the country
- Be able to pay a bond plus one month's rent in advance
- Not have any debts greater than £15,000 (excluding student loans and car loans)
- Have maintained a clear rent account for the last 3 years and have no outstanding rechargeable repair charges, current or former tenant arrears, council tax arrears or sundry debts
- Not have been served with a legal notice about a breach of tenancy in the last 3 years
- Not have anyone aged over 18 living in the property with you who has any unspent criminal convictions
- Not have anyone living with you who has a record of anti-social behaviour, substantiated neighbour complaints or any other nuisance related action against them such as drugs, alcohol, assault, criminal damage to public or private property or police involvement within the last 30 months.
- Not exceed the maximum occupancy for the property you are applying for.
We will also need to carry out a financial assessment to make sure that the property is affordable for you.
The maximum number of people who can live in the property is:
- 2 bedroom house - 4 people
- 3 bedroom house - 6 people
Households larger than these would be classed as overcrowded and would not be eligible for a property.
Available properties
| Street | Bedrooms | Type | Monthly rent | Monthly service charge | EPC rating | Council Tax band | Minimum income required |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenside Road, WF14 0AU | 3 | Mid-terrace | £733.73 | £9.41 | B | C | £35,219 |
The original value of this property when built was £150,000.
How to apply
Apply for a property
Clock Completing this form takes around 30 to 45 minutes
To complete this form you will need:
- Photo ID such as a passport or driving licence
- Proof of address such as a utility bill, bank statement or Council Tax bill, which is no more than 3 months old
- Proof you have a right to remain in the UK such as a UK passport, Home Office letter, or National Identity Card. If you only have a biometric residence card or an e-visa, we will contact you during the application assessment process to ask you for a share code.
- Proof of your income such as wage slips for the last 3 months, a Statement of Accounts or proof of income and expenditure over the last 12 months if you are self-employed and proof of any regular benefit payments, savings or other income that you want us to consider when checking your eligibility for a property.
After you have applied
We will send you an email to confirm that we have received your application.
We will check your application and supporting documents to make sure that you meet the eligibility criteria.
If you do not meet the eligibility criteria, we will contact you to let you know within two weeks of the closing date for applications.
If your application is shortlisted, we will contact you to let you know within six weeks of the closing date for applications.
If you are shortlisted for a property
We want anyone who moves into one of these homes to be able to afford to live there without getting into financial difficulties. If you are shortlisted for a property, the Council's Money Advice Team will invite you to a financial assessment.
At the assessment, we will assess your household income and expenditure using the supporting documents you provided, to check that the property is affordable for you. We will also look at your credit report, discuss any concerns and provide advice as appropriate.
The Money Advice Team will prepare a report on how affordable the property is for you. We pass this to the assessment panel who will decide whether to recommend that you are offered a property. The recommendation is passed to the landlord who will make the final decision based on the information you have provided, and the assessment made by the Council. We will let you know whether you have been successful.
If you are offered a property, you will need to pay for a new DBS report for each person over the age of 18 who will live in the property with you. The cost is approximately £25 per person. If you have an ongoing DBS from your work, you will still need to apply for a basic disclosure. We need to see either a scanned or an online copy of a current certificate.
If you are offered a property, you will be able to go and look at it before you decide whether you would like to accept the offer. We will arrange the viewing at a time that suits you.