Rents and prices
You’ll have realised by now (yes?) that living in ChaCo means a lot more than just moving into a new house. It’s like discovering that your family’s a lot bigger than you thought it was! But if that hasn’t put you off, what about price? Could you afford to live there?
Affordable rents
Rents in Chapeltown are already a lot lower than in other parts of the city. If you’re looking to rent your unit, none of our rents exceed the limit for Local Housing Allowance support. We have always wanted them to be within the financial reach of most people living in Chapeltown, and in January 2022 we were able to reduce them all to near social rent level.
| Housing type | LHA max 2021 | Monthly rent |
|---|---|---|
| 1 room in shared house of 5 | £287 | |
| 1-bed flat | £525 | |
| 2-bed duplex (above commonhouse) |
£595 | |
| 2-bed duplex (above 1-bed flat) |
£595 | |
| 3-bed duplex (above 1-bed flat) |
£700 | |
| 3-bed house | £700 | |
| 4-bed house | £900 |
Shared ownership
Nobody in ChaCo will own their unit outright: the co-operative will retain ownership of at least 1% of every property, to discourage speculation. Nobody’s likely to join ChaCo in order to get rich… But our shared ownership scheme allows you to buy as much of your unit as you can afford (up to that 99% limit) and pay the balance as monthly rent.
The table below shows how this works out for 50% ownership and 99% ownership – but these are just two of the possibilities.
| 50% ownership | 99% ownership | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Housing type | Nominal value |
50% purch. price | Monthly rent | 99% purch. price | Monthly rent |
| 1-bed flat | £45,000 | £169.50 | £89,100 | £3.39 | |
| 2-bed duplex (above commonhouse) |
£60,000 | £207.50 | £118,800 | £4.15 | |
| 2-bed duplex (above 1-bed flat) |
(no increase) £130k | £65,000 | £207.50 | £128,700 | £4.15 |
| 3-bed duplex (above 1-bed flat) |
£75,000 | £232.00 | £148,500 | £4.64 | |
| 3-bed house | £85,000 | £232.00 | £168,300 | £4.64 | |
| 4-bed house | £115,000 | £266.50 | £227,700 | £5.33 | |
Maintenance
For people living in fully rented properties, maintenance is included in the rent. For shared owners there will be a maintenance charge based on their house type and ownership share. Eg: if you own 25% of your home, you’ll pay 25% of the maximum maintenance figure for that house type. Currently the maximum figure ranges from about £38 per month for a 1-bedroom flat to about £100 per month for a 4-bedroom house. Like everything else in ChaCo, these figures are decided by all the members together.
What you get
All our properties – whether fully rented or Shared Ownership – are unfurnished. You’ll need to bring everything else you need, from floor coverings to cookers and furniture. If you’re a Member of ChaCo (and that’s a condition of the lease) you have access to all the common areas, including the shared garden, the workshop, bin-store and common house.
If you’re a shared owner (25% – 99% share), you can apply to increase your share up to 99%. Those who are fully renting can ask to become shared owners instead – but these requests are not granted automatically. The decisions will be made by the membership on a case-by-case basis.
Common-house contribution
Finally, whether you’re renting or in the shared ownership scheme, every adult member of ChaCo will need to contribute to the cost and maintenance of all the shared facilities, including things like the common house, the garden and maintenance of the communal areas. This will replace the membership fees charged during the development phase: the charge will be related to household size, income and wealth, with the least well-off paying the smallest amount. Our aim is to spread the costs fairly and to minimise the chances of putting ChaCo beyond the financial reach of anyone who wants to live there.
Use the calculator below to see the total proposed common-house charge for your household. (These figures may change in future, but we will attempt to keep this calculator up to date. Last updated December 2021.)
If you’re already a member of ChaCo, please use this calculator instead, which stores your details.