Affordable home ownership

One of our roles is to increase the supply of affordable new homes within Wychavon. We do this by working with a number of different partners. 

You can find out more information about who we work with to increase the supply of affordable homes on this page.

Housing Associations

Housing Associations are responsible for building and then letting or selling new affordable homes. The following housing associations are working hard to develop new affordable homes in our district:

Homes England and the Regulator of Social Housing

Homes England is a public body whose responsibilities include increasing the number of new homes built in England by providing funding to support their creation.

Find out more about funding for affordable homes on the Homes England website.

The Regulator of Social Housing is responsible for the regulation of ‘registered providers', such as housing associations, in England.

Developers and house builders

Section 106 Agreements

Many affordable homes on new housing schemes are built as a result of planning policies requiring them to be provided. In these cases, and also in the case of community-led schemes, developers are required to sign a legally-binding agreement to secure delivery of the required affordable homes. These agreements are known as planning obligations or Section 106 Agreements.

Planning Policy - Affordable Housing Threshold

The South Worcestershire Development Plan (SWDP) was adopted on 25 February 2016 and it included policies for seeking developer contributions towards infrastructure including affordable housing (Policy SWDP15). That policy requires affordable housing contributions from sites which include 1 dwelling or more, including conversions.

The Affordable Housing Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) was published in October 2016 and provides further guidance to developers on the councils approach relating to the delivery of affordable housing across the three south Worcestershire Councils (Wychavon, Malvern Hills and Worcester City).

In July 2018 the Government published a revised version of its National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) (amended in February 2019) setting out a new national threshold for the provision of affordable housing.

The NPPF is a material planning consideration and the 2019 version post-dates the adoption of SWDP and the South Worcestershire Affordable Housing SPD. 

Types of affordable housing

The are many types of affordable housing. These include:

  • Affordable housing for rent through a housing association
  • Build to Rent (also known as Affordable Private Rent) – properties available to rent under the private rented sector. The rent levels are at least 20% below local market rents (inclusive of service charges if applicable) for the same or equivalent property. Usually, tenancy agreements of three years or more are offered. Find out more about Build to Rent on the Government's website.
  • Starter homes. If you are a first- time buyer, the Starter Homes scheme could help you buy a new-build home with a 20% discount. You must be below the age of 40.
  • Discounted market sales housing. This is where you purchase a home at a discounted rate which is usually at least 20% less than the market value, and when you come to sell, the property will be sold at the same discounted percentage. For a copy of the Discount Market Sales application form, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  • Shared ownership. This is where you buy a share of your home (between 25% and 75%) and pay rent on the rest. Shared Ownership properties can be purchased from a housing association. Find out more about shared ownership on the Government's website.

You can learn more about the scheme and what it has to offer by reading the Shared Ownership advice on the Help 2 Buy website .

To find a Shared Ownership home, please visit the Help to Buy Agent Midlands and London website.

To apply for a Shared Ownership home, you will need to contact the Housing Association/Registered Provider selling or renting the property to express your interest. Before you can reserve a property or arrange a viewing you will need to have completed a Help to Buy application form and been approved for the scheme.

Identifying housing need

As a council, we regularly assess and puts in place plans to meet local housing needs, including affordable housing needs.
We assess housing need by:

  • Strategic Housing Market Assessment
  • Housing Register data
  • Housing Needs Surveys

To address this need, we expect a percentage of most new housing developments to be affordable housing.

More detailed affordable housing requirements in terms of types, sizes and tenures are fixed on a site by site basis after considering: the housing needs of the district; any site-specific issues; and, in rural areas, the locality. However, as regards tenure, based upon the Strategic Housing Market Assessment the council normally expects the affordable housing to be 80% social rented and 20% intermediate housing products.

Housing needs surveys

We carry out rural housing needs surveys to help us understand the housing requirements in the district. The surveys are completed by households in the selected parishes. Each survey provides data that can be used to inform the planning of new housing developments and demonstrate the need for increased affordable housing.

Once the survey is closed, a report will be published and available on our website.

Discount Market Scheme (DMS)

Can I sell my Discount Market Scheme property?

You may sell the property at any time, but you must notify Wychavon in writing of your intention to sell your affordable home. In order to confirm the value of your property, you will need to obtain and provide the council with two written valuations for the full Open Market Value of the property from two reputable local estate agents. This must also be submitted on the estate agents headed paper. The sales value is then calculated and agreed upon by taking the average of these two valuations and applying the purchase discount. This is then the maximum sales value which you can sell at through your chosen estate agency.

These can be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

As this scheme is part of the Affordable Home Ownership scheme, prospective buyers must be eligible for affordable housing and satisfy the requirements of the original Section 106 agreement. The local connection eligibility details will be provided to the estate agent selling the property. Gross annual household income at the date of application for a DMS unit must not exceed £80,000 to be eligible.

The property must be sold with the same discount percentage that you received when purchasing the property, and valuations must be submitted to the Local Authority and a 70% Discounted Price agreed.

DMS Mailing List

If you are interested in Affordable Home Ownership, we hold a mailing list of people who would like to know when properties become available. If you would like to be added to this mailing list, please detail your local connection to a specific parish or district, and email your details to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Useful documents

  WDC: