Intermediate rent for Key Workers

The following information has been quoted from the Housing Corporation website.

The Intermediate Rent scheme is designed to assist in the recruitment and the retention of frontline key workers by making homes available for rent. This is particularly relevant for staff in the health, education and community safety sectors, whose services are essential to local communities but who are unable or do not wish to purchase a home. The intention is to target key workers who cannot afford market rents in areas within a reasonable travelling to work distance of their workplace.

The rent of homes available for key workers must not exceed 80% of the current local market rent. Wherever possible a figure significantly lower than this but higher than social rents should be anticipated. Annual rent increases must be limited to no more than 0.5% above inflation

Landlords must grant Assured Shorthold Tenancies (AST). Contractual periodic tenancies must be granted in all cases. In no circumstances should ‘permanent’ Assured Tenancies be granted.

Where the property is let to joint tenants the Assured Shorthold tenancy will be granted to both parties who both need to be fully aware of the terms. It should be made clear in the conditions attached to any joint tenancy that at least one party must remain in eligible key worker employment. Both the key-worker tenant and the non-key-worker tenant are placed under an obligation to inform the landlord in the event that the key worker tenant ceases to be a key worker.

Under the terms of the tenancy agreement the Key worker is required to notify the landlord within seven days of leaving their current qualifying employment.

The landlord will need to decide which of the following draft clauses they wish to use in their tenancy agreements:

* Option A “ to notify the Landlord within 7 days of the tenant leaving his or her current employment (whether or not such change would lead to the tenant ceasing to qualify as a Key Worker)
or
* Option B “ to notify the Landlord within 7 days of any one of the tenants leaving his or her current employment (whether or not such change would lead to the tenant ceasing to qualify as a Key Worker)

It must be a condition of the Assured Shorthold tenancy agreement that when a key worker leaves a qualifying form of employment the tenancy must be terminated and the property surrendered. In addition the market rent will be charged from the next rental payment period until such time as the property is vacated, when it should be re-let to another key worker. Changes in the sector specific eligibility criteria will not, on their own, trigger a requirement to surrender the property. Eligibility status will be judged against the criteria prevailing at the time they were granted assistance under the scheme .unless they change employment or wish to transfer to another property or participate in one of the other key worker living options, in which case, their eligibility will be re-assessed against the current version of the sector specific eligibility criteria.