MoneyActionNet Awards 2010 entry form
1. What the Awards are for
The MoneyActionNet Awards 2010 are for projects that have proved successful in
helping social housing tenants to improve their money management.
This work can include:
Developing tenants’ financial literacy and financial capability
Developing tenants’ capacity to earn money
Supporting tenants towards home ownership
Facilitating access to financial services
Encouraging savings and investment
Setting up access to bank accounts
Maximising tenants’ access to benefits and tax credits
Helping tenants with debt
Awards are invited from:
Housing associations
Local authority landlords
ALMOs
Supported housing providers
2. Rules and procedures
1. Entries must be completed using this entry form and submitted electronically here.
2. Receipt of all entries submitted online will be automatically acknowledged.
3. Entrants may be asked to provide further information.
4. The judges' decision is final. Awards will be made at the judges' discretion and no
correspondence will be entered into concerning any decision. Not all the awards
advertised may be awarded if the judges consider the criteria have not been met.
Additional commendations may be made at the judges' discretion.
5. The content of any entry may be used for informing other practitioners and also for
publicity purposes unless the entrant withholds their consent to this in writing.
6. Entrants are deemed to have accepted these rules and procedures and to have agreed to
3. Your entry
Your contact details
Full name Phil Moore
Organisation The Places for People Group
Telephone number 07803 211838
Email address [email protected]
Address The Old County Courthouse, Bank Street, Sheffield
Postcode S1 2DS
Website www.placesforpeople.co.uk
Project name
Making Home Ownership Affordable
Project summary (max. 100 words)
Please describe this project in a few sentences – what it does, who it’s for, and what it achieves
Many Places for People customers aspire to own their own homes, the homes they currently live in. PfP supports this for a
number of reasons, including neighbourhood sustainability, but primarily to allow residents to fulfil their aspirations. We
piloted the Governments Social Homebuy initiative with some success, but wanted to improve the affordability of access to
ownership. We therefore developed and launched our own ‘Renting to Owning’ product based on equity loan – customers can
buy their home (owning outright) paying out only 60% or 70% of market value. This project achieves the home ownership
1. What is the project seeking to achieve? What are its objectives?
The project seeks to achieve
The financial and home ownership aspirations of customers, enhancing
financial inclusion
The development of more sustainable and stable communities, with
customers in employment able to remain in their home and neighbourhood
while becoming home owners
A financial model that is acceptable to the RSL, without grant aid: a model
that maximises the customers ability to purchase but which is financially
neutral for the organisation.
2. What does the project do? What are the activities?
The Social Homebuy (SHB) pilot was rolled out in 2006 and offered 4000 PfP customers in 14
areas the chance to buy their home with a discount of between £9000 and £16,000
depending on region.
Following feedback, PfP developed its own product ‘Renting to Owning’ (RtO) to make home
ownership more attractive and affordable. This is based on equity loan. Customers of over 5
years standing in pilot areas are offered the chance to buy the home they live in. They pay
out (obtain a mortgage for) 60% of market value (70% for customers between 5 and 7 years
standing). PfP provides the remaining value with an equity loan which is rent/interest
payment free. The only condition is that, when they sell, customers repay the same
percentage of the market value at first sale. So a customer can buy a £100,000 home with a
mortgage of £60,000 and not have any other monthly payments on the purchase. This
makes ownership much more affordable to a wider range of customers – for example,
earning £20,000 to £25,000.
RtO gives 100% ownership to the customer – it is not shared ownership. Shared ownership
in this market has proved to be unpopular – SHB allowed for shared ownership purchases
Phase 1 of our RtO scheme was rolled out in 2009 to 8500 customers in 25 areas nationally.
3. What is your personal role in the project?
I led on developing and submitting the SHB pilot, working with our Property Sales section.
PfP were one of 4 pilot RSL’s who helped develop the approach with the Housing
Corporation, and we then helped with guidance and publicity to roll this out nationally to
other organisations.
I then produced the Submission for Renting to Owning, following the PfP Finance
Department’s work on developing the financial model. The Submission was approved as a
voluntary sales scheme by the TSA and Housing Corporation.
I have been the lead Senior Manager within PfP for the project management of both SHB
and RTO, the development and implementation of strategy and policy.
4. What has been the impact of the project? Has it been evaluated?
Our SHB scheme achieved 32 sales across the country. Customer interest was high – over
10% expressed interest, 5% put in applications, just under 1% purchased. While this ratio
was very high compared to other organisations SHB sales, it was low enough to drive PfP to
develop and launch a revised product. National evaluation showed such an approach to be a
niche product, but a valuable one for suitable customers.
RtO has produced 9 sales so far with a further 30 live applications progressing.
5. What are your reflections on the project? What were the major challenges and how were these overcome?
The aim of both SHB and RtO, to allow customers to buy their own homes in an affordable
way, is one we are committed to. It combines financial inclusion with neighbourhood
sustainability. But it is a challenging prospect given the uncertainties of the housing and jobs
We have attempted to overcome these challenges by developing and piloting appropriate
and (with RtO) customised products, testing the market in a variety of areas, accepting it is a
steady, gradual process. This is especially the case for a product based on a relatively
unknown concept (in this market) such as equity loan.
6.
What are the plans for the project in the future?
A second phase of RtO is now being launched, following approval by the HCA and TSA. We are offering this to a further 6800 customers in a wide variety of areas nationally. This will include 3 larger areas – Hampshire, Lancaster/Fylde, and Midlands, so that all customers whether on estates or in scattered properties have the chance to buy. This will further test the market and inform our future strategy.
It is possible that this product will at some time be offered to all PfP customers.
4. Submitting your entry
Please return this entry form by 5pm, Friday 8 October 2010 by uploading it on this page.
On this page you can also add photos, videos or other media which are relevant to your
entry. Please note that each file must be less than 500kb in size. You can change the file size
with image processing software or by converting to ZIP format (In Windows, right-click then
select 'Send To...' -> 'Compressed (zipped) Folder').
If you have problems sending us your entry then please email [email protected]