Liverpool’s Mayor Joe Anderson has revealed his ‘ethical’ housing scheme entitled Foundations which aims to create 10,000 new homes across the city over the next decade. Foundations will operate a rent-to-buy scheme which aims to enable people on lower incomes to eventually own their own homes. Anderson states how ‘we recognise that getting the cash together for a deposit can be a major challenge for many first time buyers, so the new ‘Rent to Buy’ scheme will play an invaluable part in addressing this problem’ meaning that for those hoping to buy in the Liverpool area, getting onto the property ladder is going to become that little bit easier. He also went on to say how he has ‘asked the Foundations team to explore other financial incentives and by the time homes are available to buy in 2019 there will be an opportunity for some of those, assessed on a per scheme basis, to be available rent-to-buy or through an alternative incentive.’
Foundations aims to improve the availability of good quality, affordable homes in the city as well as building homes to cater for those with specific needs such as foster carers, large families, the elderly and people with disabilities. The £500 million programme is being labelled as fundamental to addressing the city’s need to develop 30,000 new homes by 2030. The new buy-to-rent scheme will operate on the premise that tenants will pay reduced rent on Foundations properties in order to save enough money to pay the deposit on the property they inhabit. It has been designed to not only improve housing within the city, but to transform the buy-to-rent sector and therefore drive up council tax receipts for the council and stimulate growth by involving local businesses in the construction process.
In September, Birkenhead-based partnership homes developer, Lovell Home, submitted a planning application on behalf of Foundations to build more than 100 homes in the Yew Tree area of Liverpool and if approved, construction will start in early 2019 and will be completed by 2022. The new homes will be delivered in two phases and will comprise of 56 two-bedroom homes, 43 three-bedroom homes, 4 four-bedroom homes and 4 two-bedroom bungalows. The company has also revealed its ambitious target of bringing 2,000 homes onto the property market within the first two years of operation. Great news for both first time buyers and for those working within the property and construction sectors in Liverpool. Foundations Chief Executive, Marks Kitts, has said that the company is looking at a ‘range of sites in various ownerships across the city, within neighbourhoods, the city centre and waterfront as potential sites for redevelopment’ and as previously mentioned by Mayor Anderson, the scheme is expected to be formally launched from 2019 onwards. Chairman of Foundations, Frank Hont, has expressed the company’s excitement for the plans that are progressing as they ‘hope [they] will change the lives of hundreds of families across North Liverpool.’ Foundations aspires to create ‘modern and spacious places to live’ and hope to ‘transform communities across the city with quality, affordable homes.’
So the future looks bright for the property market and consequently the property jobs/recruitment market within Liverpool. Mayor Anderson has emphasised the importance of the project by stating how it will ‘[give] people hope and a stake in the city’s future’. He also went on to state that this is the ‘most exciting project [he’s] been involved’ in and it’s easy to see why. The real estate market will soon become unrecognisable in Liverpool as it goes from strength to strength with Foundations’ work and ultimately buying a house in the city will be revolutionised, becoming more accessible and a bit more of an attainable idea for first time buyers.