Hellens Residential is delivering 99 Rent to Buy homes in its largest project in Stockton, Jubilee Gardens, which it says will give local people the opportunity to get onto the housing ladder.
The social housing provider is preparing to complete work on the final two properties, and has been visited by Councillor Nigel Cooke, cabinet member for Regeneration and Housing at Stockton Borough Council.
The affordable homes, on the Norton Road estate, make up around 40% of the 234-property Barratt Homes development, and are offered on a Rent to Buy basis.
Rent to Buy is an affordable home ownership product, approved by Homes England, offering a way onto the property ladder for working households struggling to raise a deposit to purchase a home outright.
Homes are offered for rent to potential purchasers at an affordable rate, giving customers the opportunity to save for a deposit at the same time.
After five years, they have the opportunity to purchase their home outright.
Kate Hellens, managing director of Hellens Residential, said: “Jubilee Gardens has 234 homes on site, and Hellens Residential is proud to have delivered 99 of those on a Rent to Buy tenure.
“We’re delighted to have had the opportunity to partner with Barratt Homes on such a fantastic project.
“People who move in to Rent to Buy feel much more invested in their home: they have security of tenure, and have the opportunity to live in the home that they need now, before the they can afford to buy it.”
Councillor Nigel Cooke, cabinet member for regeneration and housing on Stockton Borough Council, said: “I think what Hellens Residential is doing here at Jubilee Gardens and other sites in the borough is really wonderful.
“They’re working very closely with the residents; they get to know them and their needs. It’s a really good partnership.”
Neil Milburn, development director at Barratt Homes, said: “Barratt Homes has really enjoyed partnering with Hellens Residential because they’re accommodating, understanding, and most of all, they deliver.
“When I see the results on the ground, the difference they’re making, the smiles on the faces of the customers, it really drills it home to me that partnering with Hellens was the right decision.”
Lauren Campbell, a Jubilee Gardens resident, said: “Our experience with Hellens Residential was very straightforward.
“Their customer service was absolutely amazing; they were very knowledgeable about the Rent to Buy scheme, so we were happy to go with them.”
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