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3 September 2002

NIGEL DODDS VISITS 17,OOOTH CO-OWNERSHIP HOME

More than 17,000 homes in Northern Ireland have been purchased through the Co-Ownership initiative which aims to help first-time buyers, the Minister for Social Development, Nigel Dodds, MP, MLA, said today.

Speaking during a visit to the house of Judith Casey in the Cregagh area of Belfast, who is the 17,000th participant in scheme, the Minister said:

"I am acutely aware of the financial mountain which first-time buyers have to climb these days as property prices continue to rise in Northern Ireland. The Co-ownership Scheme is an excellent way of making it easier for people to take that first step on the housing ladder.

"One of my priorities, as Minister with responsibility for housing, is to address the affordability issue. I have been a consistent supporter of the Co-Ownership approach and have arranged for extra funds to be allocated for this purpose. The fact that we have now passed the 17,000 milestone shows that people are keen to take advantage of this approach."

The Co-ownership Scheme, which is funded by the Department for Social Development and managed by the Northern Ireland Co-Ownership Housing Association, provides those on low incomes the opportunity to purchase a home on an equity sharing basis. They can latter purchase the ‘remainder’ of the house when their circumstances permit.

Mr Dodds said housing is one of his top priorities and has backed this up by bringing forward two major pieces of housing legislation to the Assembly. He has also indicated that this is just the beginning of what he has described as a rolling programme of housing legislation over the next number of years.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

  1. The Co-Ownership Scheme is a form of low cost home ownership scheme known as "Do It Yourself Shared Ownership" or DIYSO. It is the largest such scheme in the UK.
  2. The scheme is fully funded by the Department for Social Development and operated by the NI Co-Ownership Housing Association.
  3. Purchasers who cannot afford to buy a property on their income alone can apply to Co-Ownership to purchase it on a shared ownership basis. They take as large a share as they can afford initially (50%, 62.5% or 75%) and can increase that share until they own the property outright (the process is known as "staircasing").
  4. Properties are subject to valuation and must fall within its prevailing property value limits. These vary by council area and the size of the property. The current maximum is £102,000 in the greater Belfast and Londonderry areas.
  5. Almost 13,000 out of the 17,000 households have staircased so far.

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