New Anglesey Homebuy Scheme to support first time buyers

A new Anglesey housing scheme will provide extra support for first time buyers and those who cannot afford a house on the open market.

Launched by the county council, the Anglesey Homebuy Scheme will initially use £325,000 secured through the second home council tax premium to help local residents get on the property ladder over the next 12 months.

Welsh local authorities were given powers to introduce an extra Council Tax charge on dwellings occupied periodically – second homes or long-term empty properties – on 1 April 2017.

Since 2017, Anglesey council has made the best possible use of the premium and available Welsh Government funding. It has already combined nearly £1.5m in Council Tax premium funding and £1m in Welsh Government grants to bring empty properties back on to the market and help 128 first time buyers secure a home.

It is now hoped that the new Anglesey Homebuy Scheme will build on this success by providing extra support for local residents in the form of an equity loan to purchase a home.

The Anglesey Homebuy Scheme is available to:

• local first-time buyers who are finding it difficult to buy a home
• those who may have previously owned a property but are not currently a homeowner
• existing shared equity property owners whom need a more suitable home

The scheme would see the council providing an applicant – unable to gain a sufficient mortgage to buy on the open market – with an equity loan enabling them to buy a home without having to fund its entire cost. The house would then be a shared equity property.

Applicants would need to have at least 5% deposit to access the scheme. If or when the property is sold, the owner would repay the Council’s equity share based on the council’s equity share percentage at the time of future sale.

Anglesey’s housing portfolio holder, Councillor Alun Mummery, explained, “As a local authority, we’re well aware of the difficulties faced by residents in communities all over the Island as they try to gain a footing on the housing ladder.”

“The Anglesey Homebuy Scheme is our latest innovative project, using income secured via the council tax premium, to provide more support to buy a home in the shape of an equity loan.”

“The new scheme – launched in partnership with Tai Teg – will ensure another much needed boost for the provision of affordable housing for local residents.”

The council’s housing service has a statutory responsibility to assess housing need and lead on partnership working to provide quality housing.

Head of Housing Services, Ned Michael, said, “Our Housing Strategy 2022-2027 continues to play an integral role as we work independently, and with key partners, to meet the needs of our local residents now and to the future.”

“As well as building many new council homes, we’re creating homes for more families by buying back old Council-owned properties and bringing many long term empty homes back into use.”

Council leader, Councillor Llinos Medi, added, “We’re using the Council Tax Premium positively to support local people and create opportunities for them to live in affordable quality homes in their own communities.”

Further information about the Anglesey Homebuy Scheme is available on the Tai Teg website https://taiteg.org.uk/en/register and a copy of Isle of Anglesey County Council’s Shared Equity Policy is available on its website: www.anglesey.gov.wales/homebuy-scheme