Delivering more affordable homes

Affordable housing is for those people who cannot afford to buy or rent a home on the open market. There are 2 main forms of affordable housing: Rented Affordable Housing and Shared Ownership.

Rented Affordable Housing is usually owned and managed by the Council or a Housing Association (sometimes called a Registered Provider).  Social Rent is charged for most Council homes, while Affordable Rent is charged for new Council homes and many Housing Association homes.  To be considered for a property, you will need to be on the Council’s Housing Register or apply direct to the relevant Housing Association. 

Shared ownership – sometimes called Part Rent, Part Buy – helps people who cannot afford to buy a property outright with a mortgage, to get onto the housing ladder. You buy a part-share in a property, normally with a mortgage, and also pay rent to the Housing Association for the remainder that you don’t own. You start by buying between 25% - 75% but can normally increase your share in future, if you can afford to. The bigger percentage you own, the less rent you pay to the Housing Association. For more information contact our Housing Options Team.

Affordable housing is provided in two main ways; on sites where market housing is being built and sites specifically for affordable housing.

Use of Developer Contributions 

The Central Lincolnshire Local Plan sets out our policy for the delivery of affordable housing on private developments. The requirement is that, depending on area, between 15% - 25% of properties should be affordable on sites of 11 or more dwellings, or where the combined floor area is 1000 square meters or above.

The expectation is that affordable housing is generally delivered without the need for grant from Homes England through sites with developer contributions and as least 50% of the affordable housing should be for affordable rent.

Use of Grant funding 

Housing Associations or the Council (acting as Registered Providers) also build schemes which are 100% affordable housing. They will usually receive grant funding from Homes England or else use funding from the Council itself.

We work in partnership with Housing Associations (also called Registered Providers) in the district to provide affordable housing. The main development partners who we have worked with are:

• Acis Group
• Lace Housing
• Lincs Rural Housing Association
• Longhurst Group
• Nottingham Community Housing Association (NCHA)
• Waterloo Housing Group

As a predominantly rural district, North Kesteven also works to provide affordable housing within its rural settlements. Where there is a need for affordable housing and clear community support, the Central Lincolnshire Local Plan may allow affordable housing to be permitted as an exception to the policy on an appropriate site, where housing development would not normally be permitted. 

The Council is always looking for land for potential affordable housing sites. Some settlements have already had a housing needs survey and may have an unmet need. For settlements with no housing needs survey information we may recommend a survey in that settlement to see if there is a housing need, if a site seems suitable for development.

Please complete the Affordable Housing Land Registration Form to register your land for potential development of affordable housing.

If you, as a Parish Council, would be interested in assessing whether there is a need for an affordable housing scheme for local people in your Parish, we may be able to advise on how carry out a housing needs survey. 

Alternatively, your neighbourhood plan may identify a need for affordable housing. If there is a need we can offer support to try and meet that need.

If you are interested in finding a Housing Association home, further information is available within our Homes and Property webpages.