17/1/06       Media Contact: Robert Davies 020 7393 2160         ref: 06/06

The Housing Corporation today announced the winners of a bid competition to select ‘Zone Agents’ for the Low Cost Home Ownership element of the forthcoming £3.9 billion National Affordable Housing Programme, 2006-08.

A total of 23 individual organisations will cover 37 Zones across England, assuming administrative responsibilities for all Low Cost Home Ownership products in a given area.  This will effectively create a one-stop-shop for all Low Cost Home Ownership applicants.   

Specifically, the successful organisations will be responsible for the marketing of all three Homebuy products, and for assessing the eligibility of applicants before directing them to local schemes which best meet their individual needs.

They will also be charged with the delivery of all homes under one of the three Homebuy options – Open Market Homebuy – where eligible individuals can buy a property on the open market, using their own mortgage capability assisted by an equity loan.

The Housing Corporation’s Director of Programmes, Richard Hill, said: “The organisations we have chosen will now have the vital task of making it easier for people to identify and access low cost home ownership schemes across the country, helping many more individuals and families to get a foot on the property ladder as a result.”

Funding for the Homebuy products will come via the Housing Corporation’s National Affordable Housing Programme for 2006-08, scheduled for Ministerial approval by the end of March.

Ends.

1. A full list of the successful Zone Agents by region is as follows:

Notes to editors:
 

2.  The Housing Corporation received 54 Zone Agent bids, with 28 covering more than one Zone, and with seven organisations submitting cross-regional bids.  The bids were assessed jointly by the Housing Corporation and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

3.  The three new Homebuy products designed to replace all other Low Cost Home Ownership options from April 2006 onwards are summarised as follows:

• New Build Homebuy - Akin to traditional Shared Ownership where newly built homes are purchased via a housing association on a part buy/part rent basis;
• Open Market Homebuy - Where homes can be bought on the open market, utilising the purchasers savings and/or mortgage capability, topped up by an equity loan; and
• Social Homebuy - Where existing social housing tenants can buy their current homes on a part buy/part rent basis, receiving a discount on their initial purchase.

4.  The Housing Corporation is the Government Agency responsible for the regulation and investing in over 1,500 housing associations in England. Its investment programme of £3.3billion for 2004-06 will fund over 67,000 affordable homes. 16,000 of these will go to key workers and 25% will use some form of modern method of construction.