Are you eligible? 





Demand for affordable homes is high, especially in areas where property prices are expensive. We allocate our homes and public funding responsibly and follow criteria to help us to do this.


Click here to access our Eligibility leaflet


If you meet our criteria, we would welcome an application from you.


Click here to apply


Where applications exceed availability, we assess and select applicants according to housing need and affordability. Part of this assessment is estimating the amount of mortgage you could apply for. As a guideline we base this upon three and a half times single salary, or three times joint salary.

Some of our properties and funding are available only for key workers. To qualify as a key worker you will need to be working in an eligible key worker role.
 

Click here to read our key worker eligibility



You do not have to be a key worker to apply for HomeBuy.

We have properties and funding available for all first time buyers who cannot afford to buy a property on the open market. Priority for these may be given to people who are council or housing association tenants, or to those who are registered on the local authority's housing register. People who need to buy a property as a result of a relationship breakdown are considered the same as first time buyers.



Eligibility criteria

To be eligible to purchase a property through HomeBuy you will need:

  • To have access to, or savings of £3,500 – this is to ensure you can afford the initial cost of buying a home, eg, survey, legal fees, mortgage arrangement fees, etc. You should have access to this without the need for additional borrowing.
  • To be in permanent or fixed term employment. People on fixed term contracts may apply, but may be subject to further eligibility checks.
  • A minimum income to ensure you can obtain a mortgage to buy a property. As a general rule this starts at £18,000 per annum gross (single or joint). These minimum figures could be higher, depending on the area where you wish to live. Maximum household income (single or joint) is £60,000 per annum gross.
  • To demonstrate that you cannot afford to buy a property that meets your current housing needs without assistance through HomeBuy.
  • To demonstrate that you are not in mortgage or rent arrears, or in breach of your current tenancy agreement at the time of application.
  • To be age 18 or over and have a bank account.


In addition:

  • If you have debts of over £15,000, we will not be able to accept your application for Moat schemes. If you have savings or equity to repay some of your debts to below £15,000, please state this on your application form. Loans from the Student Loans Company will be considered in addition to this and assessed on an individual basis. Please note that this loan criteria is set by Moat. If you specify a property with another housing association on your application, we would be happy to refer your details to them on your behalf.
  • If you already own a property that meets your current housing need, we will not be able to assist you through the scheme.
  • To proceed with a property or funding through the scheme you will need to raise a mortgage that is suitable to Moat. If you are unable to raise a mortgage you will need to have sufficient savings to purchase a share in a property on a New Build HomeBuy basis.

 

We may be able to help you if:

  • You or your partner are self employed
  • You have at any time been declared bankrupt
  • You have, or have had, County Court Judgements (CCJs) or loan defaults served against you
  • Your home has been repossessed in the past six years

In addition to your application we will ask you to speak with one of our panel independent mortgage advisors for an assessment.



Rent to HomeBuy

An application for Rent to HomeBuy will be assessed in a similar way to applications to buy a property. However, you will not need to have access to £3,500 as the scheme is designed to help you save for this during your rental period.

If you currently have a credit record that is preventing you from raising a suitable mortgage, it may be possible for this to improve over time. You can therefore apply for Rent to HomeBuy as long as you meet all other criteria.



Discounted Rent

The criteria for Discounted Rent is more flexible than for buying a property.

To apply for a discounted rent property will need:

  • To be in permanent, temporary, fixed term or agency employment. Key workers must have a minimum of six months remaining on their employment contract at the start of the discounted rent tenancy
  • No minimum income levels apply to discounted rent but you will need to demonstrate that you can afford the rent of the property for which you are applying in addition to your regular monthly bills and expenses
  • To demonstrate that you are not in mortgage or rent arrears, or in breach of your current tenancy agreement at the time of application
  • If you are a foreign national without permanent leave to remain in the UK you will need to have at least six months remaining on your work permit at the start of the discounted rent tenancy
  • To be age 18 or over and have a bank account

 





Your home is at risk if you do not keep up rent and mortgage repayments or payments on other loans secured on it.

Please note that the value of properties can go down as well as up.