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General eligibility criteria for all Customers

Eligibility for affordable homes to rent or buy through Housing Options is subject to the funding terms agreed by the housing provider who has built the home and their funding partners. These may vary from one development to another and by location, always check with the housing provider who has built the homes you are interested in as to what eligibility terms apply.
All Customers (key workers and non key workers) applying for affordable home ownership or intermediate rent homes must meet the following basic criteria:
You must not be able to buy a home suitable for your housing needs within a reasonable travelling distance of your work place, without assistance You must be a British or EU/EEA citizen or have indefinite leave to remain in the UK. Customers without indefinite leave to remain who are interested in buying a home, must be able to demonstrate that they are able to raise a mortgage with an acceptable lender and that they can afford to sustain home ownership in the longer term. This will normally require a detailed individual assessment You must have savings or access to at least £4000 to cover the cost of buying a home, this amount is a guideline figure and will vary depending on the HomeBuy product you are pursuing and by deposit terms required by your mortgage lender. At the time of writing (May 2009), it is likely that you will require more than this amount to be able to buy a home immediately You must be employed on a permanent contract of employment or be able to demonstrate that you can afford to sustain the costs of home ownership If you are a key worker we can consider you if you are employed on a temporary contract as long as: there are at least 6 months remaining on the contract the contract was issued at the outset for at least 12 months there is a reasonable prospect of the contract being extended You must sell your existing property if you own oneYou must have a good credit history.
You may not qualify for HomeBuy products if:
You have had rent arrears during the last 12 months or are in breach of your current tenancy agreement If you are a key worker, you cease to be a permanent employee in a qualifying profession before you complete your purchase You have an adverse credit history You are in receipt of housing benefit OR you are receiving housing benefits Please note - individual circumstances will be considered.



Eligibility criteria for key workers	Top of the page >>
Applicants must meet the general eligibility criteria to access Housing Options schemes. In addition, to be considered a key worker you must: Work in an approved job role Work for an approved employer Have a permanent contract of employment OR A temporary contract that was issued for at least 12 months with at least 6 months remaining, that has a reasonable prospect of being extended
For Intermediate Rent the following are eligible:
Trainee key workers Those with an offer of key worker employment to start within 3 months



HEALTH	Top of the page >>

All applicants must be employees of one of the following: Health Protection Agency NHS Primary Care Trusts; NHS Trusts; NHS Ambulance Trusts NHS Mental Healthcare and Social Care Trusts; The National Blood Transfusion Service; NHS Direct; NHS Professionals Special Health Authorities; NHS GP surgeries; NHS Dental practices that have been awarded NHS Body status. Where dental practices provide NHS services via a contract the NHS will provide a letter confirming their status as an NHS Body. The following are eligible job roles (the list is not exhaustive): Nurse Healthcare Assistant Diagnostic support staff (diagnostic radiographers, microbiologists, rehabilitation engineers, phlebotomist, bio-medical scientist) Cancer Services staff Mental heath professionals Midwife Occupational therapist Nursery nurses (qualified to level 3) Chiropodist Physiotherapist Clinical staff working in Orthoptics Clinical staff working in Dietetics Clinical staff working in Prosthetics Speech Therapist Art Therapist Paramedic Ambulance staff with clinical skills (including technicians) Psychologist Psychotherapist Radiographers Pharmacist & pharmacy technicians Post mortem officer Operating department practitioner Any NHS employee performing a role eligible in one of the other sectors will be eligible. All clinical roles are eligible (except doctors and dentists). Administrative roles or those where the core skills are not peculiar to clinical organisations (e.g. IT specialists, catering staff, cleaners, maintenance staff etc) are not entitled.




EDUCATION	Top of the page >>
Teachers All applicants must be working as qualified teachers employed in a maintained nursery (early years), primary or secondary schools, including: Community Schools Academies Voluntary Aided Schools Voluntary Controlled Schools Foundations School Trust Schools Schools for children with special needs Pupil referral units. OR Be hospital-based teachers or peripatetic teachers employed by a Local Education Authority Qualified teachers employed in the Ethnic Minority Advisory Service, Inclusion Support Services or similar services by a Local Education Authority Be qualified teachers in a non–maintained school for children with special needs where the pupils are LEA funded. Teachers employed through an Agency are not eligible for key worker housing. Further Education Colleges All applicants must be a teacher employed in one of the following: An FE sector institution (general FE College; sixth form college; art, drama & performing arts college; agriculture & horticulture college; tertiary college) A non-FE independent specialist college providing further education for people with learning difficulties A FE teaching post in a Higher Education Institution or a Local Authority led education in England provided the course is funded by the Learning Skills Council (LSC) All applicants must be either: Qualified in line with the Further Education Teachers* Qualifications (England) Regulations 2007 - including Schools-based Qualified Teacher Status. Attending (at the time of application) a course leading to a qualification in line with the Further Education Teachers* Qualifications (England) Regulations 2007 - including Schools-based Qualified Teacher Status. Nursery Nurses All applicants must: Hold the Diploma in Nursery Nursing or an alternative level 3 qualification appropriate for the care or development of children. A full list of suitable level 3 qualifications is available on the Department for Education and Skills Children's Workforce: Qualifications website. Be employed in a maintained early years school or nursery.



POLICE	Top of the page >>
British Transport Police All applicants must have at least five years service remaining. Officers and PCSOs must have completed initial training (ie 32 weeks service) The following are eligible job roles: Police Officer Police Community Support Officer Crime Analyst / Senior Crime Analyst Communications Officer Civilian Scene of Crime Officer Community Race Relations Analyst City of London Police All applicants must be either: A serving Police Officer Police Community Support Officer Metropolitan Police All applicants must have been in post for at least six months. Police Officers must have completed initial training at Hendon, or be a police officer transferring from another constabulary who can’t be housed in police quarters. Police staff must be directly employed by the Metropolitan Police. The following are eligible job roles: Metropolitan Police Officers Police Officers in the Royal Parks Constabulary Communications Officers Scientific Support Team Crime Analyst Station Reception Officer (excluding Lewisham, Bromley, Sutton Stations as they are employed by the private sector) Civilian Gaolers Police Community Support Officers Intelligence Analyst / Researcher Financial Investigator Custody Nurse IBO staff Coroner’s Officer Witness support staff Burglary Investigator Evidential Imaging Officer Crime Management Unit Officer Telephone Investigation Unit Officer Firearms Enquiry Officer Football Liaison Officer Restorative Justice Officer Neighbourhood Watch (non administrative roles)



HM PRISON SERVICE	Top of the page >>
Prisons run by private contractors are not eligible employers. Applicants must work within one of the following prisons: Belmarsh Brixton Feltham Holloway Latchmere House Pentonville Wandsworth Wormwood Scrubs Applicants must be from one of the following disciplines: Prison Officers and related grades Nursing and other clinical staff Operational Support Grades Industrials Instructional Officers LEA employed FE teachers The following job roles are eligible: Industrial Grades 1,2,3,4,5 Craft grades Instructional Officer – Prison workshop instructor Nursing grades A, B, C, D, E, F, G & other clinical staff. Clinical NHS grades Operation Support Grade – Uniformed Support Grade Principal Officer – Uniformed Prison Officer Management Grade Prison Officer – Basic Uniformed Officer Grade Psychologist working on prisoner programmes Psychological Assistant – Programme Support Grade Senior Officer – Uniformed Prison Officer Management Grade



MINISTRY OF DEFENCE (MoD)	Top of the page >>
MoD personnel are eligible for key worker New Build HomeBuy and Intermediate Rent. All applicants must have completed basic (phase 1) training. Applicants basic duty station must be located in either: London The East of England The South East of England The following roles are eligible: Regular service personnel ( including Military Provost Guards Service in the Army, Navy, Air Force) Clinical staff (excluding doctors and dentists) MoD police officers Uniformed staff in the Defence Fire Service Ex-regular service personnel (who have served in the Armed Forces for a minimum of six years and can produce a Discharge certificate, or similar document). Applications must be within 12 months of discharge. The following roles are eligible for Intermediate Rent only: All roles listed above Full Time Reserve Service (Full Commitment) Individuals who have not completed basic training Some service personnel (eg Ghurkhas and those from foreign and Commonwealth countries) qualify under the criteria outlined above, but do not have Indefinite Leave to Remain in the United Kingdom. Ghurkhas are guaranteed Indefinite Leave to Remain on completion of their term of service, but this is not the case for those from other foreign or Commonwealth countries. Applicants without Indefinite Leave to Remain need to be aware that this will affect their ability to buy a property. This is because they will find it difficult to get a mortgage.



PROBATION SERVICE	Top of the page >>

Applications must have one of the following job roles: Senior Probation Officer Probation Officer Probation Service Officer Some other operational staff (excludes Assistant Chief Officers) Intermediate Rent is the only key worker specific housing that Trainee Probation Officers are eligible for.


FIRE AND RESCUE SERVICES	Top of the page >>
Applicants must have finished their initial training. The following roles are eligible: Uniformed staff below principle level Control room staff



LOCAL AUTHORITY STAFF	Top of the page >>
Local Authority Planners All applicants must be employed in a Local Planning Authority (LPA), or National Parks Authority. Applicants must be a professionally qualified Planning Officer, working to deliver statutory planning services (whether in development control or development plan production). The following grades are eligible: Level 1 – Basic Professional Level 2 – Experiences / Senior Professional Level 3 – Principal Professional (manage a single function or small team) Level 4 – Divisional Head Job titles such as Conservation Officer, Enforcement Officer and Tree Preservation Officer fall within Levels 1-3. Nurses and Clinical Staff Nurses and other clinical staff employed directly by the Local Authority to provide nursing / clinical care can be helped in the same way as equivalent staff employed by the National Health Service (NHS). To check the list of eligible job roles go to the Heath section of this page. Social Workers All applicants must be directly employed by a Local Authority as either a Social Worker or Children’s Social Worker. Applicants must: Have a recognised professional Social Worker degree / diploma Be registered with the General Social Care Council (GSSC) Unqualified Social Workers who are registered with the GSSC and currently working towards their qualification (including Graduate Trainees) are eligible for key worker Intermediate Rent only. Nursery Nurses Applicants must be employed by the Local Authority; employees of private nurseries are not eligible as key workers. Applicants must be qualified. Details of the required qualifications are in the Education section of this page. Therapists Applicants must be fully qualified in their field. The following are eligible job roles, but this is not an exhaustive list: Occupational Therapists Speech and Language Therapists Rehabilitation Officers for the Visually Impaired Educational Psychologists Applicants must be employed by the Local Authority. Applicants must be fully qualified. Environmental Health Workers Applicants must work for either a Local Authority, the NHS, a government agency or other public sector agency. Applicants must be an Environmental Health Officer/ Practitioner. Applicants must have either: EHRB Certificate of Registration EHRB Diploma in Environmental Health CONNEXIONS PERSONAL ADVISORS Applicants must be employed by either: A Local Authority Connexions Partnership Applicants employed by private or voluntary organisations are not eligible as key workers.



THE CHILDREN AND FAMILY COURT ADVISORY AND SUPPORT SERVICE	Top of the page >>
Fully qualified social workers (also know as Guardians) and children’s social workers, employed by CAFCASS and have attained the recognised professional social worker degree/diploma are eligible.





HIGHWAY AGENCY TRAFFIC OFFICER STAFF	Top of the page >>

All applicants must be employed in one of the following safety critical roles: Supervisor (On Road & Off Road) Traffic Officer RCC Operator


Eligibility criteria for MyChoiceHomeBuy & Ownhome	Top of the page >>

In addition to the basic low cost home ownership all applicants must be.
Either a key worker or public sector tenant (willing to vacate their rented home) with an income of up to £60,000, or A first time buyer with a household income not exceeding £60,000. Please note that Shared Ownership leaseholders are not public sector/housing association tenants and therefore are not eligible for MyChoiceHomeBuy. - occasionally a highly pointed applicant on the council's housing waiting list could qualify. Only a small number of London Local Authorities allow waiting list applicants to buy through MyChoiceHomeBuy. Please check local arrangements with your HomeBuy Agent - similarly some local authorities will consider applications from applicants that are Foster Carers. Please check local arrangements with your HomeBuy Agent. You will need to have sufficient household income to be able to afford at least 50% of the cost of the type of home you would want to buy on the open market. Prices for homes can vary substantially from one area to another and from one postal code to another in the same local authority area. As a rough guide, to assess if you can afford to buy a 50% share of a home, multiply your household income by 3.5 times if two of you are buying together and by 4 times if you are buying on your own. This sum will indicate the maximum mortgage amount that you'd be able to borrow. If this is equal to 50% of the cost of the home you would like to buy then we may be able to help you. If it is less than 50% of the cost of the home you want to buy you will need to look for a home in a more affordable area or consider an alternative option, such as New Build HomeBuy. If you are not sure whether to proceed at this stage, contact us and we can advise you.

To qualify for HOLD you must:
Live in housing that is unsuitable for your needs. Have long term disability e.g. learning disability, mental ill health, physical disability. Be over 18 years of age. Be eligible for Income Support or Incapacity benefit for at least 39 weeks. Have access to set up costs of £3000.

Kingston only

Priority will be given to local authority and housing association tenants and those on the housing waiting list in the London Borough of Kingston. If you are not on the Kingston Housing Register please contact the Home Ownership Section on 020 8547 5439.

You need to have sufficient household income to be able to afford 75% of the cost of the type of home you would want to buy on the open market. Prices for homes vary substantially from one area to another and from one postal code to another in the same local authority area.

To assess if you can afford to buy a 75% share of a home broadly you need to multiple your household income by 3 times if two of you are buying together and by 3.5 times if you are buying on your own. This sum roughly gives you the maximum mortgage in principal you can have. If this equals the 75% cost of the home you would like to buy we may be able to help you. If it is less than 75% of the cost of the home you want to buy you will need to look at cheaper homes to buy on the open market.

Richmond only

Priority 1 Housing Association tenants occupying family sized accommodation (for properties that we have nominations rights to, i.e. in this borough and parts of the Hounslow borough) Priority 2 Housing Association tenants occupying studio or 1-bed accommodation (for properties that we have nominations rights to, i.e. in this borough and parts of the Hounslow borough) Priority 3 Accepted homeless applicants - Housing Register applicants with a high number of points that reflects their priority for housing - therefore in points order Priority 4 Customers with special needs identified by the borough Priority 5 Key workers, according to the DCLG definition, plus ambulance and bus drivers, who work in this borough and at hospitals serving a substantial number of borough residents Priority 6 Other key workers living or working in the whole sub-region Priority 7 Applicants on Housing Register (prioritised by points)

Wandsworth only

Category of Applicants Priority 1 Wandsworth Council tenants with a recognised medical need or living in overcrowded conditions and having a minimum of 150 points in the transfer queue, decants, essential repair cases, tenants under occupying and homeless persons. Priority 2 All other Wandsworth Council tenants and tenants of housing associations currently occupying property within the Borough. Priority 3 First-time buyers who currently live within the Borough. Priority 4 Key workers who work in Wandsworth but do not live in the Borough. *Note:* Applicants are initially put forward for the number of bedrooms required to house them and their family. If more than one applicant from the same priority group applies for a property the applicant with the earliest registration date under the scheme will take precedence. All applicants are subject to a financial appraisal at the point of offer.

Westminster only

To be considered for specific New Build Home Buy and Rent to Home buy opportunities or intermediate rent schemes (discounted rent) in Westminster, you must register with the council service Homeownership Westminster. Telephone 0845 437 9701 Email info@homeownershipwestminster.co.uk Visit www.homeownershipwestminster.co.uk Priority awards are made to: Priority 1 Council tenants and Housing Association tenants Priority 2 Households who the council has accepted a statutory homeless duty to re-house Priority 3 All other council Housing Waiting List Priority 4 People who live in Westminster Priority 5 People who work in Westminster



Eligibility Criteria for New Build Homebuy (formerly known as Shared Ownership)	Top of the page >>

To qualify for New Build Homebuy you must meet the general eligibility criteria:
Live in or near London or; Work in or near London; or Aspire to live in London.
Priorities
We generally aim to sell to first time buyers but your applications may also be considered from people who have previously owned their own home if:
They owned the home with a partner and that relationship broke down They need to move into an area because of their job and cannot afford to buy outright They are shared owners whose income has fallen and they can only stay as home owners by moving to a smaller, cheaper home They are shared owners whose family has grown but cannot afford to buy outright You are currently living in unsatisfactory rented accommodation or able to show your housing need

As funds are limited, applications for new build developments will be prioritised. Eligibility for the different developments varies locally. Generally priority is given to those releasing tenancies, living in temporary public funded accommodation or those that are key workers. However, homes are offered at different stages to all those listed in the eligibility groups above.
In deciding how homes will be offered, we will take the following factors into account:
The applicants preference Household income and affordability - If you are not a key worker or public sector tenant your maximum household income cannot exceed £60,000. Household size. Applicants will be offered a home with up to one bedroom above and over their current needs.

Allocation of homes is based on the provision of accurate information supplied by applicants. L&Q Group/Metropolitan Home Ownership may withdraw any offer it may have made if information is found to be misleading or incorrect. The Sales Manager is responsible for the final decision. In the event of a dispute the matter can be referred through our complaints procedure (available on request)



Eligibility Criteria for Social Homebuy	Top of the page >>

Social HomeBuy is where public sector tenants buy their council or housing association home on a part buy part rent basis receiving a discount on the initial purchase price. Eligibility criteria are set on a local level by your landlord. It is not a statutory scheme and not all landlords will currently be offering this assistance. To find out if your landlord is offering Social HomeBuy and what the eligibility criteria is please call your Housing Officer who should be able to advise you.



Eligibility for HomeBuy Direct	Top of the page >>

Be a qualifying buyer unable to afford a home in their local market. Applicants must not be able to buy a home suitable for their housing needs within a reasonable travelling distance of their work place, without assistance. Be able to demonstrate access to savings or sufficient funds to pay, if required, a deposit (which may be 5% or more of the purchase price), legal fees, stamp duty and other costs of moving. Be able to sustain home ownership in the longer term. Typically, applicants will be employed on a permanent contract of employment (there are exceptions for key workers). If self-employed, the applicant must be able to provide accounts for the last three years. Not already be home owners or named on a home mortgage. If an applicant has had their name on a mortgage they will have to provide evidence that it has been (or is in process of being) removed. Have a good credit history - if applicants have rent arrears during the last FG months, are in breach of their current tenancy agreement or have an adverse credit history which means they are unlikely to be able to sustain ownership, they will not be eligible for HomeBuy Direct. Take out a first mortgage with a qualifying lender.



Equal Opportunities	Top of the page >>

Metropolitan Home Ownership and L&Q Group are committed to equal opportunities. We aim to give equal treatment and the same opportunities to everyone.
We expect everyone who works for us to support us in this.
This is what we will do:
Treat all people equally, whatever their race, colour, ethnic origin, national origin, religion, sex, age, sexuality, physical or mental disability, state of health, appearance, marital status or family circumstances. Give all members of staff equal opportunities’ training. Help ethnic groups who are disadvantaged in housing and employment, by encouraging members of these groups to apply for jobs and homes. Keep a record of the ethnic origin, sex and disability of everyone who applies to us for a house or a job. Keep in mind our commitment to equal opportunities when we decide who serves on our committees. Make sure everyone we work with or works for us knows about our policy and keeps to it. If any of these people have their own policy, we will make sure it fits in with ours. Take account of developments in equal opportunities when we update our housing and employment policies and procedures.

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