Financial Assistance For Private Landlords

If you are the owner of an empty property that is in need of repair and renovation, you may wish to know that financial assistance could be available in the form of Major Works Assistance or Temporary Social Housing.

Eligibility for funding will be dependent upon a number of factors such as:-

• Available resources
• Property location
• Property type
• Housing need in the area

Please note that no guarantee of financial assistance can be given prior to purchase, and that grants cannot be paid retrospectively.

Landlords Major Works Assistance

The Council offers a discretionary grant to help owners renovate unfit property for the purpose of providing additional units of rented accommodation.

The grant available is as follows:

A maximum limit of £10,000 or 50% of the cost of the works, whichever is the lesser, where the landlord agrees to let the property based on a local reference rent for a minimum of five years.

Major Works Assistance can also be considered for improving existing rented properties. Priority will always be given where tenants are on benefits, are elderly, vulnerable or have families with young children.

Temporary Social Housing

Temporary Social Housing schemes are administered by housing associations for the purpose of refurbishing empty properties via financial assistance.

The main features of this option are as follows:

• Grant assistance is not means tested in any way.
• The level of grant available will vary from property to property. The owner will usually have to make some contribution although in some cases 100% grant funding may be possible.
• In return for receiving grant aid, the owner will agree to lease their property to a housing association for an agreed period. A lease agreement is entered into and the rent charged will be "affordable" to tenants.
• The lease period will be from a minimum of six years. The length of the lease period is determined by the owner after consultation with the Council and housing association.

For more information on assistance, please contact the Council's Housing Needs and Development Team on (01432) 260269.

Case History

Background

New owners acquired a large older property situated in central Hereford that had been empty for many years and was in need of significant works. The intention of the owners was to renovate the property with the view to converting it into three self-contained flats. The estimated cost of works was between £40,000 to £50,000.

Details

Further to discussions with the Housing Needs and Development Team, the owners expressed interest in renovating the property by undertaking a Temporary Social Housing Scheme.

In return for receiving a grant of around £28,000 towards the cost of the works, the owners agreed to lease their property to a local housing association for six years. For the duration of the lease period, the owners will receive a guaranteed accumulative rent of £525 per month (for all units). The association will also be responsible for letting and managing the property as well as any deliberate damage caused by the tenant.