Our first homes for living rent are eight new modern, high-quality homes at our Bridge House development in Homerton. You can register your interest on the Hackney Sales website.

Compared to the market rate, eligible renters could save nearly £11,000 a year on the average two-bedroom flat – helping them to build up a deposit to buy their first home.

It's all part of our #BetterRenting campaign to improve standards and affordability for private renters in Hackney.

1. Living rent is a new type of genuinely affordable housing

It’s for people on middle incomes that wouldn’t normally qualify for social housing.

Rents are calculated based on a third of average local incomes, meaning they will be lower than the market rent a private landlord would charge.

Living rent homes are aimed at private renters who are struggling to save for a deposit and want to build up savings to buy a home, or are simply looking for a more affordable option.

2. In Homerton, a living rent could save you £900 per month

Living rent is calculated based on a third of average local incomes, and adjusted for the number of bedrooms in each home.

For a two-bedroom home in Homerton, this could be around £900 per month.

The average equivalent market rent in Hackney is around £1,800 per month.

3. If you can’t afford to buy a home, living rent might be for you

We’ll consult widely on what you think the criteria should be later this year, but our initial ideas are that to be eligible, you must:

• be renting or working in Hackney

• have a maximum household income of £60,000

• be unable to currently buy a home (including through shared ownership) in your local area

4. We’re still building thousands of Council homes

We’re building nearly 2,000 new homes between 2018 and 2022, with the majority for social rent and shared ownership. Find out more on the Hackney is Building pages.

The homes for living rent will be properties that would otherwise have been sold outright.

This will not affect the number of homes being built for social rent. In fact, we’ll reinvest any extra income made by the not-for-profit company set up by the Council to own the living rent homes into building new Council housing.

This company will be run by a board made up entirely of council staff. It will not demolish or build any homes.

5. We’ll show what a good landlord looks like

The Government provides no funding directly to the Council to build or manage homes at a discounted living rent, so some homes will be let at a market rent to subsidise those at a living rent.

Hackney Council, through the not-for-profit company set up to manage market rent and living rent homes, will be a responsible landlord following the principles set out in our #BetterRenting campaign.

We won’t charge excessive fees, we’ll offer secure and stable tenancies without unreasonable rent increases, and we’ll be responsive to any repair or maintenance issues.

The not-for-profit company will have a contract with the Council to formally let and manage the homes, and be the landlord of those who rent from it.

The Council’s existing repairs, maintenance and other teams will provide these management services.

How can I find out more?

If you’re interested in applying, register your interest on the Hackney Sales website.