Purpose

In recent years the Council and St Leger Homes of Doncaster (SLHD) have been jointly involved
with the delivery of a property acquisition programme. St Leger Homes currently administer the
programme on behalf of the Council in which property purchases and conveyance is undertaken
by the Council, the properties are brought into housing stock and are Council owned, St Leger
Homes then facilitate necessary repairs to appropriate standards and subsequently let and
manage the property.

This purchase has been considered in line with the need to address the high demand for
affordable rental properties, including 2-bedroom homes in many areas across Doncaster where
there is an under supply of this type of property.

Choice Based Lettings bidding data within the last financial year (Q2 – Q4 incl.) has been a
consideration for this purchase. This indicates an average of 166 bids for 2 bedroomed houses
in Cantley, suggesting a strong demand in the area.

Decision

To support the proposal for the purchase and repair of 19 Almond Road, Cantley, DN4 6PH.

The purchase price is £130,000 and provisional inspections have estimated the further investment
costs to be £30,000 to ensure the property is fully modernised, and up to standard.

Alternative options considered

Option 1 – Approve the property purchase – (recommended option)
This option will support the acquisition programme by utilising available funds to maximise the
opportunity to provide additional housing provision across the borough. Whilst consideration has
been given to the Housing Needs Survey, property bidding data in this instance has indicated a
high demand for 3 bedroomed properties in the area.

Option 2 - Do Nothing
This option would lose the opportunity to deploy approved funding to help ease the demand for
properties on the housing waiting list.