Genesis Housing Group has become the first RSL to be awarded a grant from English Partnerships under the First Time Buyers Initiative.

The funding will enable 35 first time buyers to purchase a home at a new site being developed by Genesis at 14-20 High Street Wealdstone, London.

John Hughes, Genesis deputy development director said; "We are committed to broadening access to affordable home ownership and are extremely pleased to have become the first housing association to receive this funding from English Partnerships. It will provide first time buyers living in and around the Wealdstone area with a real opportunity to get a foot on the property ladder."

Duncan Innes, the English Partnerships Director responsible for the First Time Buyers' Initiative, comments: "These new affordable homes will provide a real opportunity for first time buyers in many communities across England where they are needed most. We want to help as many people as possible to take their first steps towards full home ownership, and we want to be able to do it quickly. The First Time Buyers' Initiative will help us to just that."

The First Time Buyers' Initiative (FTBI), run by the national regeneration agency, English Partnerships, enables aspiring first time buyers who cannot otherwise afford to buy a home outright, to purchase a new home through an affordable mortgage. Under the initiative, eligible first time buyers contribute a minimum of 50 per cent towards the full purchase price of a new home through an affordable mortgage, with English Partnerships contributing the rest via a direct payment to the developer.

Buyers must repay the assistance when they sell. If the English Partnerships contribution was 25% of the full purchase, the seller must repay English Partnerships 25% of the total value at the time of sale. First time buyers can also 'staircase' to reduce English Partnerships' share of the future sales proceeds at any time, and after three years, will start to pay a charge to English Partnerships based on its contribution made.

Work at the site in Wealdstone has begun and the homes are expected to be completed by the end of 2008.

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For more information, please contact:

Jayne Williams
Marketing, Press & PR Officer
Genesis Housing Group
0208 150 4178
jayne.williams@ghg.org.uk

Notes to editors

Genesis Housing Group provides homes and services to tens of thousands of people across London and the south east. The Group consists of PCHA, Pathmeads and Springboard housing associations. We also have in our group a charitable foundation, Genesis Community. We are one of the largest and most successful housing groups in the UK, owning and/or managing more than 40,000 homes. Our overiding aim is to put customers first and provide excellent service to all.

English Partnerships is the government's national regeneration agency delivering high quality, sustainable growth in England. We do this by developing our portfolio of strategic projects and acting as the government's advisor on brownfield land. We also ensure that surplus public sector assets are used to support wider government objectives, especially those contained in the Sustainable Communities Plan. English Partnerships helps create communities where people can afford to live and want to live. Information on projects and programmes can be found at www.englishpartnerships.co.uk

English Partnerships and the Housing Corporation are working with the Department for Communities and Local Government to establish the proposed new national housing and regeneration agency, Communities England.