A new housing development has officially opened in County Durham.

The £1.3m scheme in Low Willington is the first market rent scheme in the North of England to be completed under the Government's Build to Rent Fund, which is managed by the Home and Communities Agency.

The homes, which have been developed by Prince Bishops Homes (PBH), consist of 14 three- and four-bedroom homes and have already been praised by local families who have been given the opportunity to rent a brand new home and potentially get that all important first step onto the property ladder through PBH's 'Rent then Buy' scheme.


Tenants rent the properties at market rent levels until March 2020 and are then given the chance to purchase their home sharing in any increase in equity which has occurred in that period, using this money as a deposit for a mortgage. The tenant does not have to purchase, they can continue to rent if they so wish and there are no up front commitment fees.

Derwentside Homes was the only housing provider in the North East to receive funding from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) £1bn Build to Rent Fund in their announcement in April this year.

The association received 50% funding totalling £4.8m to build 114 homes for market rent under the initiative, which aims to increase the number of homes built for market rent.

The scheme, which is called Dellside and was constructed by Swale Valley Construction, is the first to be unveiled as part of the Government's Build to Rent Fund.

(CD/JP)