Community Housing Scheme - Shared Equity
The ‘Community Housing’ scheme seeks to support people creating a pathway to home ownership through a shared equity scheme.
Loans Available
- Occupiable Properties - up to 20% of purchase prices subject to a maximum purchase of £300,000
- Empty Properties - up to 40% of purchase prices subject to a maximum purchase of £300,000
Key Benefits
- Deposit - purchase a property with minimum 5% deposit from own funds
- Interest Free Loan - with no monthly repayments
- Staircasing - an opportunity for the owners to ‘staircase up’ to higher share ownership of the property by purchasing 5% blocks of the Council’s equity share over time as their circumstances allow
- Empty Properties - the Equity share scheme can be used alongside the home improvement loan and National Empty Homes Grant to bring the property back into use
Important points to consider before taking the equity share loan
Mortgage Repayments - normal monthly mortgage payments will be due to any mortgage provider for any mortgages taken in relation to the purchase. Monthly payments will be lower due to a lower mortgage being required due to the Council’s equity share.
Mortgage - any mortgage taken in relation to the property purchase must be on a repayment basis. Interest only mortgages are not allowed.
Repayment of Council Loan - the amount of loan due to be repaid to the Council will be the cash amount loaned or the equivalent percentage of value of the property at the time of repayment, whichever is higher. For example, if you borrow £50,000 from the Council, and at the time of loan repayment your property is worth 20% more than when you made the purchase. You will owe the Council £60,000.
The loan will need to be repaid by the end of the mortgage period or within 25 years, whichever is sooner.
The Council holds a share in your property until the loan is repaid.
Affordable Housing in Ceredigion is a key priority of the Corporate Strategy, the Wellbeing Plan, the Housing Strategy and the Local Development Plan and the Council deploys significant resources in creating and managing affordable housing.
Scheme approval received from Cabinet on the 6th June 2023, details of which can be found: