Accommodation / Key Worker Living

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a HomeBuy Agent? | Who is a key worker? | Who can benefit? | Does a key worker contact the HomeBuy Agent covering the area where they work or where they want to live? | How do I know if I am eligible for help? | How did the Government decide which groups of key workers to include? | I work as a teacher but for a private sector employer. Am I still eligible for help? | Is there a maximum income I can earn? | If two key workers buy a property together can they get two equity loans under Open Market HomeBuy? | Could I buy any type of property? | How much will I receive through Open Market HomeBuy? | What is Open Market HomeBuy? | What is New Build HomeBuy? | If I already own a home am I still eligible for the scheme? | What happens if I need to move to a larger home when I start a family? | Do key workers have to pay tax on their housing assistance? | Does the Key Worker Living scheme support the provision of rented accommodations for key workers? | What level of rents will be charged for 'intermediate rent' homes? | What happens if I cease to be a key worker? Will I have to repay the assistance that I have received? | Who notifies the HomeBuy Agent if a key worker leaves their employment? | If I go on a career break, will I have to pay the money back? | If I am not eligible under this scheme are there any other schemes available that may help me? | Are any key workers who are in the UK on work permits eligible? | Are key workers on temporary contracts eligible? | What if I am still training to be a teacher? | Where can I find out more detailed information on the Key Worker Living Programme?

What is a HomeBuy Agent?

A HomeBuy Agent is a registered social landlord that markets housing schemes including those for key workers across an area. They deal with applications and arrange the help you need.

Who is a key worker?

For the purposes of this scheme, a key worker is someone employed by the public sector in a frontline role delivering an essential public service in the areas of health, education and community safety where there are serious recruitment and retention problems.

Who can benefit?

If you are a 'key worker' in one of the groups listed below you could get help to buy your first home or to move into a family home. Opportunities are also available to rent homes at affordable prices.

This help is available in London, the South East and the East of England where the high cost of housing is affecting employers' ability to recruit and keep staff.

Key workers who may currently get help are:

Clinical NHS staff (with the exception of doctors and dentists);
Teachers and nursery nurses in schools and further education/sixth form colleges;
Police officers, Community Support Officers and some civilian staff;
Prison Service staff in certain prisons;
Probation Service staff;
Social workers, nursery nurses, educational psychologists, and therapists (e.g. occupational therapists) employed by local authorities, CAFCASS or the NHS;
Local Authority Planners;
Firefighters and other uniformed staff below principal level in Fire and Rescue Services;
Connexions Personal Advisors employed by a local authority or a Connexions Partnership;
MoD (certain personnel) qualify for new build products (New Build HomeBuy and Intermediate Rent).

Eligibility criteria can vary across regions depending on local recruitment and retention priorities.

Does a key worker contact the HomeBuy Agent covering the area where they work or where they want to live?

Where they work.

How do I know if I am eligible for help?

You need to contact the relevant HomeBuy Agent who can tell you which key workers in your area can get help and whether you are eligible. (This depends on how big the problem of recruiting and keeping staff is.)

How did the Government decide which groups of key workers to include?

Although all key workers provide a valuable service, resources are finite and we have had to prioritise assistance. The Government's focus is on frontline delivery in the areas of health, education and community safety. In addition to groups like health workers, teachers and police, they support others such as social workers. These priorities reflect the importance they attach to improving standards by tackling recruitment and retaining essential skills to support services in areas where key workers cannot afford to live.

I work as a teacher but for a private sector employer. Am I still eligible for help?

No. One of the conditions of the scheme is that you are employed directly by the public sector.

Is there a maximum income I can earn?

Yes. The maximum household income to qualify for help is £60,000.

If two key workers buy a property together can they get two equity loans under Open Market HomeBuy?

No, you cannot combine two separate applications for financial assistance. The joint income will be taken into consideration to assess one loan.

Could I buy any type of property?

You have to buy a property suitable for your household's needs and within a reasonable travelling distance of your workplace. Mobile homes (including fixed homes covered by the Mobile Homes Act 1983), caravans and houseboats cannot be purchased through Key Worker Living.

How much will I receive through Open Market HomeBuy?

This will depend upon your household's income, savings, any property you already own, any financial commitments such as student loans, the mortgage you can get, and the purchase price of the property you are buying. You will be expected to raise around 75% of the purchase price as a mortgage.

What is Open Market HomeBuy?

This is an equity loan. You do not have to repay the loan until you sell the property or stop being a key worker. At the time you sell the property or stop being a key worker you will need to repay a percentage of the property's value. The percentage will be the same as the percentage of the purchase price your equity loan covered. So if you got a £40,000 equity loan to buy a home for £160,000, the loan would represent 25% of the purchase price, and you would have to repay 25% of the value of your home when you sell it or stop being a key worker. You can ask the HomeBuy Agent for more information. From October 2006, following a major agreement on the private financing of equity loans, lenders will provide a 'top-up' equity loan alongside the loan being provided by the Government. This will stretch Government funding, enabling more people to be helped. The new offer has been agreed with Bank of Scotland, Nationwide Building Society, Yorkshire Building Society and Advantage. You will be able to choose the best offer for you. There may be a small charge associated with the private lender's loan. Full details of the new arrangements are still being finalised with the Council of Mortgage Lenders and the lenders themselves.

What is New Build HomeBuy?

You are helped to buy a share (for instance 50%) of a newly built property within reasonable travelling distance of your workplace (subject to availability) and you pay a reduced rent to a registered social landlord who will own the remaining share of the property. You can increase your share in the future when you can afford it and you may even buy outright. If you sell the property, the percentage of the proceeds you receive is equal to the percentage of the property you own. If you stop being a key worker, you will no longer be eligible for help. You can ask the HomeBuy Agent for more information.

If I already own a home am I still eligible for the scheme?

Yes. If you already own a home and you meet the eligibility criteria, you could receive help to buy a larger home to meet your family needs.

What happens if I need to move to a larger home when I start a family?

If you still meet the eligibility criteria for help as a key worker, you can sell the first home and carry forward the help you received. You can use the proceeds of the sale, plus the help you originally received to buy a bigger home.

Do key workers have to pay tax on their housing assistance?

In the large majority of cases, the provision of assistance will either create no tax liability or only a very small one.

Does the Key Worker Living scheme support the provision of rented accommodation for key workers?

Yes. As part of the programme, registered social landlords will make properties available to key workers for intermediate renting. That is, at a rate between social rents and open market rates.

What level of rents will be charged for 'intermediate rent' homes?

You are likely to pay around 75% to 80% of the local market rent for the type of property you live in. You would have an assured shorthold tenancy while you remain a key worker.

What happens if I cease to be a key worker? Will I have to repay the assistance I received?

Yes. If you leave eligible employment then you will have to repay the assistance you received. For Open Market HomeBuy the equity loan must be repayed within two years from when you cease to be a key worker. Purchasers of New Build HomeBuy or shared ownership will have five years, instead of two, in which to sell their share in the property they purchased or staircase to full ownership if they leave qualifying key worker employment.

Who notifies the HomeBuy Agent if a Key Worker leaves their employment?

The Key Worker must notify the HomeBuy Agent within 7 days in writing of changing jobs, even if they still consider themselves to be a Key Worker.

If I go on a career break, will I have to pay the money back?

You can go on an agreed career break for up to 3 years. If you choose not to go back after this 3 year period you will cease to be a Key Worker on the last day of the 3 year period. This is the date from which the clawback period will begin.

What happens if I buy and then next year the rules change and I am no longer a priority or eligible for KWL? Will I have to pay all the cash back?

No - eligibility status will be judged against the criteria prevailing at the time you were given financial help.

If I am not eligible for help under this scheme, are there any other schemes available that may help me?

Other Government funding is available through housing associations to help people on modest incomes into low cost home ownership. Our new HomeBuy scheme will enable social tenants, key workers and other priority first-time buyers to buy a share of a home and get a first step on the housing ladder. We aim to help around 100,000 households by 2010. 35,000 of these will be helped over the next two years with increased investment of £930 million through the Housing Corporation’s Affordable Housing Programme. The products are similar to those provided through Key Worker Living.

There will be three HomeBuy products based on equity sharing to offer people a choice in the type of home they can buy. Social HomeBuy will enable tenants of local authorities and housing associations to buy a share in their current home at a discount, New Build HomeBuy will enable people to buy a share of a newly built property paying a rent on the remainder (this includes the First Time Buyers Initiative which uses public sector land) and Open Market HomeBuy will enable people to buy a property on the open market with the help of an equity loan. The HomeBuy Agent for your area will be able to provide more detailed information on what is available locally.

Are key workers who are in the UK on work permits eligible?

Key Workers who are subject to immigration control will be entitled to apply for rented accommodation available under the programme, provided that they meet the particular eligibility criteria for their sector of employment.

Only key workers who have indefinite leave either to enter or to remain in the UK will be eligible to apply for assistance to help them buy a property (including under new build homebuy/shared ownership). Applications for indefinite leave by those on a work permit can be made to the Home Office once the key worker has been employed in the UK for 4 years.

Key workers from member states of the EU/European Economic Area and those not subject to immigration control are eligible to apply for help in buying a home in the same way as key workers from the UK.

Are key workers on temporary contracts eligible?

Yes, in some circumstances. You will be eligible to apply for rented accommodation available under the programme provided that there is at least 6 months remaining on your contract. Depending on the length of your original contract and the time remaining, you may also be eligible to apply for HomeBuy products. The Zone Agent for your area will be able to give you full details.

What if I am still training to be a key worker?

If you are a trainee key worker with a contract of employment you are entitled to apply for intermediate rented accommodation. Once your training is complete you will be able to apply for our HomeBuy products.

Where can I find out more detailed information on the Key Worker Living Programme?

For further detailed information please see the Capital Funding Guide on the Housing Corporation website www.housingcorp.gov.uk