New Deal Gives Green Light for Rent-to-Buy Homes in Upperthong, 

A £2 million pioneering deal to bring forward new affordable homes in Kirklees has been signed this week, kick-starting the delivery of 15 innovative rent-to-buy homes in Upperthong. 

New affordable homes in Upperthong, Holmfirth

QSH, a UK fund management company that specialises in connecting UK-based investors with social housing developers, has partnered with Kirklees Council and Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing to bring the affordable housing scheme forward. 

The development will be delivered by construction partner, Conroy Brook and is just one of a handful of such schemes available to first-time-buyers in the Yorkshire region. 

Construction has commenced, and when complete, will provide 27 new homes built in traditional stone in keeping with surrounding styles. The first phase will comprise 15 affordable rent-to-buy properties, made up of eight two bedroom homes and seven three bedroom cottages. The second phase will provide 12 four bedroom detached homes, available for private sale, and will be released to the market next year.

The first 15 homes will be managed on behalf of QSH by Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing (KNH). Under the innovative QSH-rent-to-buy scheme, tenants will pay rents which are affordable.  The tenant has the ability to purchase the property between the first and fifth year of living in their new property with half of the tenant’s rental payments put towards the deposit they need to secure a mortgage to buy their home (up to a maximum of 10%). Those who choose not to purchase during this time can continue renting their homes for a further 15 years.   

Steve Partridge, finance and investment director at QSH, said: “This innovative funding model will bring new sources of equity investment into the affordable housing sector at a time when the need has never been greater. Our rent-to-buy model complements the government’s Starter Homes initiative, helping people to save for their home whilst living in it, but also provides viable, sustainable options for people who will still require homes for long-term rent.

We hope that this new practice of bringing affordable housing developments forward will be carried across many more similar projects and help address the chronic shortage of affordable housing.”

A ground-breaking combination of private investment, which uses government enterprise incentives to support affordable housing construction projects, is enabling aspiring homeowners living in Octopus QSH-rent-to-buy homes to pay affordable rents whilst building up their crucial first deposit.  

Preference will be given to people who currently live, work or have family they support in the area, whilst the first residents are expected to move into their new homes in the new year. 

Richard Conroy, CEO at Conroy Brook, said: “This deal involves multiple parties, all of whom are working together to bring more affordable housing to our local communities, and help more buyers onto the property ladder.

The site is significant in that it shows our ongoing commitment to delivering developments that have a higher volume of affordable housing to benefit local buyers. We are committed to meeting and, where possible, exceeding the numbers of homes that the council have requested of us – we are proud to do this on the Upperthong development.”

Liz Cook, Chief Executive at KNH, added: “The Upperthong development will provide much needed affordable homes for local people, where, due to a real shortage in reasonably priced rented homes, many people have previously been forced to move further afield. It will enable people who dream of buying a home, but perhaps need support to build a deposit and credit history, to make those next steps to owning their own homes in an area in which they choose to live.”

Councillor Cathy Scott, Cabinet member for Housing at Kirklees Council, said: “The Council supports new approaches to deliver affordable housing, and it welcomes this partnership between the developer, Octopus QSH, and KNH to provide new ‘rent-to-buy’ affordable homes in Upperthong.

The Upper Holme Valley is a difficult market to access, and even more so for households eligible for affordable housing. These 15 new houses are the first affordable homes to be built in the village, and will help local working people to access the housing ladder by renting below local market rental levels, and eventually buying their home if they wish, using money set aside from their rent to fund a deposit.‘’

To find out more about the new rent-to-buy properties coming soon to Upperthong, click here or please contact KNH by calling 01484 416439 or by emailing [email protected]