Housing Cost Affordability Tool

Publication date: 13 February 2020 Author: Pointe Michel Limited & Transition by Design

Organisation: Community Led Homes

This Housing Cost Affordability Tool has been created to help community led housing groups understand what level of monthly housing cost is truly affordable for local families in their area. The tool looks at local incomes, local rents and sales prices, average deposit levels needed to buy, and introduces the concept of residual rent which is the amount of income available to pay rent after other essential needs are covered.

All figures are for illustrative purposes only and seek to allow community-led housing groups to start the conversation on housing affordability in their local authority area. The figures are not meant to represent definitive values and are not meant to be used for detailed financial modelling. In areas of high value market rent this may over inflate the social rent provided by the tool and we advise users to check the relevant social rent figures with their local authority.

If you have feedback or suggestions as you use the tool, please send those to Rosie McBride at rosie@communityledhomes.org.uk. Please know that we have already received feedback that it would be great to be able to use more local income data, for example ward level income data rather than council level income data. The authors of the tool believe they can make that adjustment and would need additional funding as those datasets are private and cost money. A request for that additional funding is currently under review.

 

Current version No.:HCAT V1.3 160620
Previous version No.:HCAT V1.2 110620
Changes made from previous version:# Income Tax data updated
# National Insurance data updated
# Minimum Income Standards updated
# Lowe Quartile House Prices updated

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