South London scheme sees locals prioritised for properties

A new apartment building in South London ensures flats are only being sold to locals at prices set according to what they earn.

The community land trust (CLT) is helping residents in South London buy flats that would have been more expensive, had they purchased them through the open market.

Citizens House, situated in Lewisham, was developed by Lewisham Council, the Greater London Authority and London CLT – a not-for-profit organisation that helps neighbourhoods set up and run CLTs.

Donated by for free by Lewisham Council, the site that the apartment block is now built on had previously been occupied by a set of disused garages. It has taken a decade of community campaigning to get the building completed, but London CLT believes it can speed up the process and is developing six other projects in the capitals in areas such as Greenwich, Shadwell and Lambeth.

Locals in the Lewisham area decided issues like planning, design and sale prices of the apartments. This was calculated by examining local income levels, which the flats will continue to track.

As well as helping to create the building, people who can prove they have upheld a strong connection with the area – through either working or living there – can apply to buy a flat in the complex.

Alongside working or previously living in Lewisham, other qualifying criteria for being able to buy a flat includes being able to obtain a mortgage, having a child in a local school and showing a demonstrable housing need.

The initiative was created to assist people who are priced out of their local area but who aren’t eligible to be on the council’s housing priority list. An independent panel decides on the applications.

However, concerns have been raised over the new project, including people sparking the question, ‘what if CLT flats are oversubscribed and someone feels they were wrongly passed over?’.

Beth Boorman of the CLT Network said: ‘A robust, fair and transparent process for deciding what sort of homes will be created and who will live in them is vital.

‘Housing needs can differ from area to area.’

Each CLT draws up its own rules and some even use a lottery system to whittle down appropriate candidates.

Property expert, Henry Pryor, has said that ‘[n]o system for buying houses is perfect’, but claims CLTs are part of the solution to addressing the current housing shortage.

There are 350 legally incorporated CLTs in England and Wales, according to the CLT Network, with 200 more forming. However, the vast majority of these trusts offer properties for rent rather than for sale.

Image: Jack Finnigan