Maidenhead & Windsor

Homeowners aged 60 years and older will be able to apply to the Royal Windsor and Maidenhead Borough for home improvement loans if the borough gets the go-ahead to introduce an innovative new scheme.

The proposal to implement the flexible home improvement loan scheme – which the Windsor and Maidenhead borough's housing project team was instrumental in designing – will be discussed at the planning and environment overview and scrutiny panel meeting on Wednesday January 30 and decided upon by cabinet on Thursday February 21.

Under the scheme, older homeowners – many of who are 'income poor' but 'equity rich' – could apply for finance to make repairs or improvements and then choose to make regular repayments, occasional repayments or no payments at all until the property is eventually sold. As loans are repaid, the money will be recycled as further loans.

Cllr David Hilton, lead member for Windsor and Maidenhead finance, said: "This scheme would be a boon to any property owner over 60 in the borough looking to carry out repairs or improvements to make their home a warmer, safer and healthier place.

"It is of paramount importance that we provide loans equal or superior to other lenders in terms of interest rates, charges, efficiency and flexibility. Our target interest rate is 5%, fixed for the life of the mortgage, and the minimum loan would be £1,000. Naturally, the loan may only be used to fund approved repairs or improvements."

The scheme was designed by a Royal Borough-led consortium of 17 local authorities in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Surrey. These authorities represent slightly more than 22% of the private sector housing stock in the South East and share a number of similar characteristics, including:

· house prices well above the national average and demand for property very high
· relatively few areas of housing poverty
· a large number of elderly property owners who have a modest income but a high level of equity in their properties
· a higher demand for home repair assistance grants than existing funds can support.

The consortium submitted its bid to the South East Regional Housing Board and was advised in December that a total grant of £16 million over three years has been approved, subject to ratification by the Secretary of State.

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead