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Social landlord scheme to stem 'teacher exodus'
Catalyst Housing and Oxford City Council have invested £1.5m in an equity loan scheme for teachers in response to fears that many are unable to continue working in Oxford.
The council has faced difficulties in recruiting teachers, and according to thinktank Centre for Cities, Oxford is one of the least affordable cities in the UK.
The scheme will see the council and Catalyst each stump up £750,000 to provide low-cost equity loans of between 15% and 40% of the home’s value, in order to bridge the gap if an applicant’s maximum mortgage level falls short. The maximum loan would be £75,000 per unit, meaning at least 20 people will benefit from the loans.
Loans are being offered to teachers who work in the city’s most deprived areas. The council said it has no other involvement in schemes to help key workers buy homes.
A recent motion passed by the council warned that ‘the lack of key worker housing for teaching professionals has contributed to the poor results in city schools’.
Clive Gorton, Catalyst’s agency contracts manager, said: ‘Average house prices in Oxford are over 16 times the city’s average annual income – the highest ratio of anywhere in the UK.
‘The unaffordability of housing in the city makes it much harder for people to get a mortgage to buy a home here, without help from the “bank of mum and dad”.’
Pat Kennedy, the council’s board member for young people, schools and skills, said: ‘Staffing Oxford’s schools is an ongoing challenge – especially those in the most disadvantaged communities in the city.
‘The high cost of housing in Oxford means that teachers are living further and further away from the schools where they work.’
