Policy information sourced from the Watford Local Plan 2021-2038.
HO3.4: Build to Rent
Proposals for Build to Rent homes will be supported in locations appropriate for residential development. Affordable housing should be provided in accordance with Policy HO3.3 ‘Affordable Housing’, although Discounted Market Rent, at a genuinely affordable rent, will be accepted in place of other affordable housing tenures. The discount on the market rent should be at least 20% having regard to the most up to date Local Housing Market Needs Assessment or other relevant evidence.
To qualify as a Build to Rent scheme, proposals should meet the following criteria:
- The development, block or phase within the development has at least 50 units;
- The homes are retained as Build to Rent under a covenant for at least 15 years;
- A clawback mechanism is in place to recoup additional affordable housing contributions in the event of the covenant being broken; and
- All the units are self-contained and let separately.
On schemes that propose a proportion of homes as Build to Rent and a proportion for sale to the market, this policy will only be applicable to the Build to Rent component. The scheme should be assessed as a whole, with affordable housing calculated as a proportion of the total habitable rooms across the scheme.
For more information, please see the Watford Local Plan 2021-2038.