Affordable housing

This page provides information to developers and homebuyers about affordable housing.

This page provides information about to developers and homebuyers about affordable housing in Northumberland.

The Government's definition and types of affordable housing can be found in the glossary of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).

Section 106 agreements are legal agreements between the Council and developers. These are linked to planning permissions and are also known as planning obligations.

Section 106 agreements are necessary to make a development acceptable in land use terms and must be proportionate to the issue they seek to resolve.

An obligation may require on-site provision (including affordable housing). It may also involve a financial contribution payment by a developer of a sum of money (a commuted sum) to be pooled and used by the Council to help fund and enable alternative off-site provision. The submission of a Unilateral Undertaking can be accepted if its provides the same statutory and policy requirements as a bi-lateral agreement.

For more information on Section 106 planning obligations and agreements please click here.

Where financial contributions in lieu of on-site affordable homes have been agreed on some sites through a Section 106 agreement, the Council monitors the collection and spending of these payments. This protocol document describes the framework that the Council will use to ensure those payments will facilitate the development of further affordable homes or make existing affordable homes more sustainable.

To read the protocol click here.

Please note that this protocol is currently under review and has been partially superseded by the Government's updated definition of affordable housing and the Council's new approach to calculating affordable housing commuted sum contributions - see Appendix D of the Northumberland Local Plan.

To apply to the Section 106 Housing Developer Fund download the application form and guidance notes here (Click here to download them as a pdf or Click here to download them as a word document).

Prior to the marketing of a new housing development involving Discount Market Sales housing, developers should contact the Council's Housing Enabling Team to clarify:

Proposed plot numbers for the affordable homes;
Market sales value and the proposed discount price; and
Proposed house types.

Also to obtain the draft Section 106 agreement to allow the sales team to gain knowledge of the criteria.

Please click here for the Section 106 Map locator.

Eligibility for a 'Discount Market Value' property

The sales team at the developer site that you are interested in may/should have explained that the property you are purchasing is a Discount Market Value Unit.

It is recommended that you read the Section 106 agreement for the site you are wanting to purchase on. Some sites have specific criteria which may affect your eligibility to purchase particular plots.

All of the Section 106 agreements can be found on the Council's Section 106 Map.

Purchasing a Discount Market Value Property

To apply for the property you will need to complete the following application form. Please note that the application form asks for evidence, so please ensure that all information is provided to process your application form promptly.