Affordable housing options

Affordable housing for rent

Spelthorne Borough Council transferred all of its housing stock in 1996 to what is now A2Dominion Housing Group. This means that there is no 'council housing' in Spelthorne. Affordable housing for rent is provided by housing associations. In Spelthorne these are:

• A2Dominion Housing Group
• Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing
• PA Housing
• Housing21
• RHP
• Peabody

What types of affordable housing for rent is available in Spelthorne?

There are a range of affordable housing for rent options, including:

• Social Rent - housing with the lowest rental levels possible. The rent for these properties is regulated by the Government
• Affordable Rent - housing where the rent level is assessed as up to 80 percent of the local market rents. All new build affordable housing in Spelthorne is based on Affordable Rent
• Sheltered / retirement housing - housing with particular design features for residents generally aged 55 years and over
• Extra care housing - housing with care and support where residents can retain a level of independence whilst receiving care and support in their own home

How do I access affordable housing for rent?

You can only access affordable housing for rent through the Council's Housing Options Team. 

Join the Housing Register

The Council maintains a register of applicants who qualify for affordable housing within the Borough. This is commonly known as the Housing Register. Some also call it the 'housing waiting list' but this is misleading as it implies that if an applicant waits long enough, they will be offered affordable housing. In reality, demand significantly outstrips supply, and so the vast majority of applicants will not receive an offer of affordable housing.

Applications on the Housing Register are assessed and prioritised according to the Spelthorne Housing Allocations Policy. Not everyone who wants to apply for affordable housing within the Borough will qualify.

The Council has rights to 'nominate' applicants for affordable housing vacancies with housing associations. Generally, this is only the case for 75% of all vacancies, with the housing association retaining the remaining 25% of vacancies for their own tenants to access.

Applicants can express interest in available properties through a 'bidding' process. This is known as 'choice based lettings'. The Council has a standalone choice based lettings system called Homes4Spelthorne.  

The important thing to remember is that waiting for affordable housing is not a realistic option for most people in housing need, given the limited number of vacancies each year and the number of applicants on the Housing Register.

To demonstrate the current demand on the housing register, please note the following bedroom sizes below and the banding priority on the register (A being the highest). In 2024/25 there were only 159 lets made to applicants on the Housing Register.

Housing Register Applications by Band and Calculated Bedroom Need:

Table 1: Demand as at 01 July 2025

Sheltered and retirement affordable housing

Sheltered and retirement affordable housing has design features which make it suitable for older residents. There is generally a minimum age criteria for this kind of housing which varied scheme by scheme but is usually 55 years of age.

In Spelthorne, there are a number of sheltered / retirement schemes, including:

• Beechwood Court, Sunbury on Thames
• Broomfield, Staines upon Thames
• Chestnut Court, Stanwell
• Elizabeth Court, Sunbury on Thames
• Grovebarns, Staines upon Thames
• Meadowview, Shepperton
• St Martin's Court, Ashford
• Vinter Court, Shepperton

All of the above are owned and managed by A2Dominion. The properties are generally one-bedroom flats, but there are also a few houses and bungalows, and two-bedroom accommodation. Please find general information on A2Dominion's website.

Extra Care affordable housing

Extra Care affordable housing offers the opportunity for residents to retain a level of independence whilst receiving care and support in their own home, generally with an on-site care and support team.

In Spelthorne, there are three Extra Care schemes:

• Chestnut Court, Stanwell - owned and managed by A2Dominion
• Beechwood Court, Sunbury-on-Thames - owned and managed by A2Dominion
• Mitchison Court, Sunbury-on-Thames - owned and managed by Housing21

The properties are generally one-bedroom flats, but there are also a few two-bedroom flats.

Access to Extra Care is outside of Homes4Spelthorne, and it managed by a panels process involving the Council, the relevant housing provider, the relevant care and support provider (if separate to the housing provider), and social care professionals.

To find out more, please contact the Housing Options team.

Supported housing

Supported housing schemes offer accommodation with support to meet low to medium level support needs. Usually the accommodation is for up to two years, after which residents are supported to move onto more independent accommodation, either in the private or social sector.

In Spelthorne, there are three supported housing schemes:

• Napier Lodge, Ashford - owned and managed by Transform Housing and Support
• Fieldview Court, Staines-upon-Thames - owned and managed by Transform Housing and Support
• Genesis House, Staines-upon-Thames - owned and managed by Ability Housing Association

The properties are all one-bedroom flats or studios.

Access to supported housing is outside of Homes4Spelthorne, and applicants must be referred by a relevant professional, such as a Housing Options Officer, a Probation Officer or a worker from the Community Mental Health Recovery Service.

Affordable home ownership

Shared ownership

Shared ownership is designed for those who cannot afford to purchase a property outright on the open market. Shared ownership allows you to purchase a percentage share of a property whilst renting the remaining share from the housing association selling the property. You can then choose to purchase further shares to increase your ownership of the property over time. Generally, the Council has rights to nominate applicants to new build schemes when they are first built. We do this by a 'cascade' process, where we prioritise certain applicant groups, such as members of the Armed Forces, and applicants with a local connection.

You can buy a new home through shared ownership if your household income is less than £80,000 and any of the following apply:

• you're a first time buyer
• you used to own a home, but can't afford to buy one now
• you're an existing shared owner and want to move

From 1 April 2023, the Help to Buy agent ceased. Instead, you can use GOV.UK to check if you're eligible to buy a home through shared ownership and to find an organisation that sells homes in the area you want to buy. Find out more about shared ownership on the government's Own Your Home website.