New Development in Addlestone

Thames Valley Housing and Runnymede Borough Council are pleased to announce that the first phase of the new Addlestone development, will soon be complete.

Addlestone is ideally situated in the heart of Addlestone town centre. It is on a main bus and rail route taking you to Weybridge, Woking, Virginia Water, connecting to Reading and London Waterloo within around an hour.

Properties on offer

Thames Valley Housing will be launching the shared ownership opportunities at this development soon. You should contact Thames Valley Housing Sales for further information, and to register your place at the launch (date TBC). Alternatively, you can preview the Addlestone sales information.

Rented properties
There are also eighteen rented properties - a mixture of one, two and three bed flats. To be considered for these, you must be on the Runnymede Borough Council's Housing Register and place a bid when the properties are advertised. We expect that these properties will be advertised during late June / early July, with a view to occupation by mid to late July.

The rented properties available are:

* 9 x One bed, two person flats - suitable for singles and couples (provided nobody in the household is pregnant).
* 8 x Two bed, three person flats - suitable for families with one child.
* 1 x Three bed, five person flats - suitable for families with up to three children.

'Please note that it is Thames Valley Housing's Lettings Policy which dictates the limits on the number of children within a household, not Runnymede Borough Council.'

As is the case with most new developments, lettings to the rented units on this development will be managed through a Local Lettings Plan (LLP). An LLP is a document, agreed between Runnymede Borough Council and Thames Valley Housing (the landlord), which details which applicant groups will be prioritised, and which applicant groups will be restricted. The objective of an LLP is to ensure that the new community is balanced and sustainable, whilst also aiming for properties go to those applicants with priority on the Housing Register. This may mean, however, that properties will not necessarily be allocated by band and date order. A copy of the LLP can be found here.

Rent levels
All properties are offered at 'Affordable Rent' and rent levels have been set as:

One bed £173.41 per week
Two bed £221.72 per week
Three bed £221.72 per week

These rent levels are all within the Local Housing Allowance for the area, so will be eligible for Housing Benefit / Universal Credit Housing Costs, but prospective tenants should be mindful of the impact of the Benefit Cap when considering these properties.

Facilities
All properties will be linked to a Central Heating Plant which provides hot water and heating. This is regulated by an HIU (Heat Interface Unit) which looks like a boiler in each property. There is also a prepaid meter system so new residents will top-up online for credit. This is a modern system and is becoming more and more common in all new developments.

All properties are carpeted throughout, with anti-slip flooring in the kitchen and bathroom. Thames Valley Housing are also providing a washer-dryer as a welcome gift for the new tenant.

Parking arrangements are still being finalised, and are not guaranteed.

Please note that pets are not allowed.

Thames Valley Housing are offering Assured Tenancies for these properties, although anyone who is not currently a Secure or Assured Tenant of another council or housing association will be offered a 12-month Starter Tenancy initially. Provided that there are no tenancy issues during the starter period, the Starter Tenancy will automatically convert to an Assured Tenancy.

Two weeks rent is payable in advance, due before a tenancy is signed, and this includes applicants who are in receipt of Housing Benefit or Universal Credit. If you are unable to pay this in full, Thames Valley Housing may accept a part payment and an payment agreement to build up this credit, although this is at the discretion of Thames Valley Housing.

Thames Valley Housing will undertake affordability checks with all applicants that are nominated. This could mean that unless Thames Valley Housing are confident that you can afford the rent as well as your other essential bills, they may not accept your application. As the landlord, they have the final say over who is granted a tenancy.

Note: the next stage of this development is not expected to complete until early 2018.