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News

A Helping Hand To Buy A Home

A cash grant of £24,000 is now available to council tenants in Poole to help them buy their own home.

Due to a recent change in legislation, Poole Council has been able to increase its Cash Incentive Scheme from £10,000 to £24,000. The grant will assist suitable council tenants in purchasing a home in the private sector.

The scheme aims to maximise the accommodation available to the Council by helping people move on and buy their own homes on the open market. This means that Council owned homes can then be rented to another family.

In order to be considered for the scheme, tenants must:

• Have been a Borough of Poole tenant for at least two years
• Occupy a at least a two bedroom Borough of Poole Council property
• Have a clear rent account
• Have no council tax arrears
• Their property must be in good condition

Councillor Bill Wretham, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Housing, Borough of Poole, said: "This is a very valuable scheme and I am pleased to see such an opportunity in Poole. The scheme is excellent value for money as the £24,000 grant represents re-housing opportunities for both a tenant moving into home ownership and for a household in need of housing, who will be moved into the resulting vacancy."

The Borough’s Housing Resources Team will be managing a programme of 15 Home Purchase Grants this financial year.

Simon Hendey, Head of Housing & Community Services, said: "The price of property in Poole and the surrounding area means that the cash grant will help people buy a home whereas before it would have been out of their reach."

Applications will be subject to means testing, to ensure that they can sustain home ownership if awarded the grant but also to ensure that grants are not awarded to applicants who would be able to afford a purchase without assistance.

The Cash Incentive Scheme has been funded by redirecting monies originally set aside to build new affordable homes. Affordable housing remains a number one priority for the Council; it has a policy that requires there to be 40% affordable housing in any new development of over 15 homes. This scheme will generate more homes to let, to those in housing need, than would have been the case if the money were used to build new homes.

Ruth Lawson, PR Officer (Media), Borough of Poole, tel: (01202) 633295