Toggle mobile menu visibility

Bank holiday information - Easter

Bank holiday information for our services, including opening times and emergency contacts. All recycling collections will take place on the usual days.

Homefix loan

The Homefix loan is a secured interest-free loan for owners who cannot afford monthly repayments on a loan but have equity in their property.

We have processes in place to ensure you only borrow a limited percentage of your property value not already secured via any other mortgage or loans you may have.

Who can apply

  • any homeowner over the age of 60 and in receipt of a means-tested benefit or low income (based on a means test)
  • any homeowner over the age of 18 in receipt of a disability benefit and in receipt of a means tested benefit or low income (based on a means test)
  • all owners must have owned and lived in the house for over 3 years, and the property must be over 10 years old
  • there must be available equity in your property to be able to apply
  • you must have savings solely or jointly with your partner of less than £16,000

Eligible works and repairs

Eligible works will be items of repair that are required to enable the occupant to live in a hazard free home and of a decent standard. They will be identified by a council officer surveyor and agreed by applicant. The focus will be to carry out repairs and renovation to bring the property up to a reasonable standard and to ensure that the property is free from serious and dangerous items of disrepair.

In addition, our surveyor will able to advise you about general maintenance and provide approximate costs. He or she will also consider energy efficiency and if required refer you to the Energy Saving Trust Wales (one of our partners) to help tackle fuel poverty and help reduce energy use and carbon dioxide emissions.

If you are eligible we will arrange for one of our officers to make an appointment to complete the application form and explain the process to you.

Following receipt of your agreement to any works we will then contact our legal department and the valuer to check any secured loans on your property and the current property value so that we can determine how much loan can be offered. If you withdraw from the process at this stage then you may incur fees which must be repaid to us.

You will need to agree the loan amount and agree to the charge being placed on your land registry record.

Once the loan is made we will arrange for the works to be carried out and will pay the builders once they are happy with the quality of the work.

Loan amounts

The minimum loan will be £3,000.

Maximum amounts depend on the equity but up to £25,000 on completion (including unforeseen and 20% contingency items) determined using property bands and set percentages to calculate the equity the client can borrow against as set out below:

  • property under £60,000: 50% of the free equity
  • property between £60,000 and £100,000: 40% of the free equity
  • property over £100,000: 30% of the free equity

In exceptional cases of severe disrepair, where it would not be appropriate to leave the property partly renovated (for example, completed works being susceptible to deterioration, or the property being left in an unsafe condition), the loan maximum may be increased to £30,000, at our discretion.

Repayment

The loan will be registered as a legal charge and is repayable on sale or transfer of title, (or upon applicants move into long term care or sheltered accommodation) calculated as the amount of the original loan given deducted from the sale price at time of redemption. For joint applicants, the loan will become repayable on the death of the surviving final borrower (or the final surviving borrower move to long term care or sheltered accommodation).

The Homefix loans provided by us are specifically designed for home owners who may not get a loan from a high street bank or building society. All loan packages offered by us are based on individual circumstances.

Check that this loan will meet your needs if you want to move or sell your home or if you want your family to inherit it. If in doubt seek independent advice.

Apply

Contact our housing grants team Housing grants team