Housing Needs Surveys

Housing Needs Surveys help us understand if a parish needs more affordable homes for local people.

The surveys are sent to all households in a parish. We send a hardcopy survey, which also includes a link to an online version - so people have the choice of how to complete it.

It’s the start of the process of identifying if, and what types of homes, are needed.

Across the county there’s a lack of affordable housing to rent or buy in many villages, in some there’s none at all.

This causes hardship for people across the generations, young people just starting out on an independent life, families trying to provide for their children and older people who can no longer manage in their current home. Often they are priced out of homes in their village and end up moving away.

For these people a new affordable home puts more than a roof over their heads, it also gives them a safe and secure place from which they can continue to be part of the community.

And the benefits of affordable housing go much wider. These homes are lived in by people who work in local businesses or provide local services. They are the people who also use local services, helping to keep them trading viably and available for everyone to use. They are a vital thread in the social fabric of the community, providing support for family and friends, perhaps an older relative or providing childcare so parents can work.

Parishes need to have the right balance of housing to sustain a vibrant community. Any new housing should aim to meet local needs and be planned carefully to have a positive impact on the area. By identifying the full range of housing needs for local people, future decisions and proactive action can be properly informed.

The survey is the very first step.

The information from this kind of survey is used to make sure that any new homes built reflect what is needed by existing residents who have a connection to the area.

The needs may be for affordable homes for rent or shared ownership, private rented homes, or open market homes to meet needs (e.g. homes suitable for people to downsize into and free up larger houses, or smaller homes to allow people to get onto the property ladder).

The housing needs of all villages should be assessed every three to five years to ensure that the local people’s needs are understood. Please see ‘Homes for local people’ below.

What happens with the findings?

When the survey is completed, we will analyse the results and write an anonymised report that’s shared with all involved parties.

If we find enough people with a housing need, and we can start to think about looking for a site, we will work in partnership with your Parish Council and the local community throughout the process.

The only people who will benefit from any new homes will be those who are already part of the fabric of the community; you, your children, grandchildren, parents etc.

The sites we help others to develop are what’s known as rural exception sites (RES).

This means we look for VERY SMALL pieces of land in a village, that can accommodate a small number of homes, often around four to six, but sometimes up to about 12.

Councils have have very clear policies about what can and can’t be built on a rural exception site. See an extract from West Northamptonshire Council's policy below as an example.

You can also read more about rural exception sites in the Parish Councillors Guide to Rural Affordable Housing.

Example Rural Exception Site policies

Source: www.westnorthants.gov.uk/planning-policy/new-local-plan-west-northamptonshire (West Northamptonshire Local Plan Consultation Draft April 2024)

Policy HO4 - PSID Exception Sites

A. The Council will support schemes for the provision of affordable housing on rural exception sites. Community led schemes and First Homes exception sites at xxx villages (to be determined in the Regulation 19 version of this Plan) that are of a suitable scale, design and tenure.
B. In the case of rural exception sites the following criteria must be met:
i. The proposed quantum and mix of affordable and market housing (if any) is clearly justified by evidence of need through an up-to-date local housing needs survey or assessment (the number of dwellings should not exceed this need); and
ii. The quantum of market housing (if any) is the minimum necessary to make the scheme viable; and
iii. A local connection test will apply.
C. In the case of First Homes exception schemes the following criteria must be met:
i. The quantum of market housing (if any) is the minimum necessary to make the scheme viable; and
ii. A local connection test will apply; and
iii. The scheme should demonstrate that products have regard to local income and local house prices.
D. In all cases the following criteria must be met:
i. The site immediately adjoins the confines of a rural settlement; and
ii. Arrangements for the management and occupation of the affordable dwellings must ensure that they will be available and affordable in perpetuity for people in local housing need.
E. With the exception of shared ownership and affordable home ownership products all affordable housing will be allocated in accordance with the West Northamptonshire Council Housing Allocation Scheme.

Policy HO5 - PSID Local Needs Sites

A. Development outside the confines at xxx villages (to be determined in the Regulation 19 version of this Plan) will be supported where the development would clearly meet a local housing need identified through an up-to-date housing needs survey or housing needs assessment.
B. In all cases all of the following criteria must be met:
i. The site immediately adjoins the confines of a rural settlement; and
ii. The proposed housing mix, type and tenure precisely meets the needs identified in the housing needs survey or housing needs assessment; and
iii. In cases where only part of the need is met, it would be expected that the different types of need are met proportionately; and
iv. Arrangements for the management and occupation of the affordable homes must ensure that they will be available and affordable in perpetuity for people in local housing need; and
v. Arrangements are in place for the continuous marketing of the local market units for qualifying households for a minimum of 12 weeks - such arrangements should only provide for release to the open market if no purchasers are found in that period.

People can be cynical that homes are genuinely for local people.

Homes built on rural exception sites can only be allocated to people who have a strong local connection to a village (e.g., they live in the village, have close family in the village or work there).

The homes also must be held in perpetuity, which means if someone moves out, the property can only be re-let to someone else with a local connection.

Rural exception sites should be small scale and usually developed solely for affordable housing.

However, they can be mixed tenure where an element of market housing is necessary to support the delivery of the required affordable housing. In such cases, the scale of market housing should be the minimum required to secure the delivery of the affordable housing.

The types of homes could be:

• Affordable:
  • Affordable housing includes homes for sale or rent and is for people whose needs are not met by the private housing market. Affordable housing is a key element of the government’s plan to end the housing crisis, tackle homelessness and provide aspiring homeowners with a step onto the housing ladder. The housing needs survey will identify the size and types of homes needed and often include a mix of houses, bungalows and maisonettes. Affordable home tenures include:
  • Homes for affordable rent or social rent
  • Homes for shared ownership

• Open market sale:
  • Market homes can ONLY be built if the survey identifies a need for them.

So, the priority is always the affordable homes. Development on rural exception sites are not the large-scale developments that need a quota of affordable homes – they are quite the opposite.

We’re an established, not-for-profit organisation, specialising in supporting rural communities to deliver genuinely affordable and much-needed homes.

We carry out independent rural housing enabling work across the region for local authorities, parish councils, neighbourhood plan groups and local developers.

We’re a trusted partner of many local authorities and rural community groups such as Northamptonshire ACRE and Rural Action Derbyshire.

We don’t work on behalf of big developers. We don’t sell or share personal data. And please be assured there’s no ulterior motive or intended use for the information collected from these surveys.

The survey reports are anonymised, so nobody else will see  personal information, or know what someone has answered.

We keep everything confidential in line with the Data Protection Act and General Data Protection Regulations. Personal data is not shared with anyone.

If you have any queries or concerns or need any help completing a survey, please do not hesitate to contact Midlands Rural Housing on 0300 1234 009 or by email at enquiries@midlandsrural.org.uk