Council Considers Buying Low-Cost Home in Usk for Temporary Accommodation

A COUNCIL could buy a low cost home outright and use it for temporary accommodation if necessary. 
The home, at Castlewood in Usk, was one of 11 in three terraces built in 1989 and 1990 under a scheme backed by the Welsh Office to provide affordable housing in Monmouthshire. 
That allows the council to provide an interest free equity loan of 30 per cent, or up to 50 per cent, of the home’s value to a resident from Usk, or the immediate adjoining communities of Llanbadoc, Gwehelog Fawr and Llantrissant Fawr, who has to raise the balance through a conventional mortgage and savings. 
Though no interest is paid on the council loan it has to be repaid at the same percentage of the value of the property and the two bedroom end of terrace house has been valued at £250,000 by the council’s estates department, meaning the current owner’s 50 per cent equity share is worth £125,000. 
They had indicated their intention to sell in February 2025 and despite a number of listings on the Monmouthshire Homesearch website a sale hadn’t been completed. 
The cabinet was recommended to purchase the house with cash from its low coast home ownership captial fund, and to attempt to sell it, in line with the original conditions later this year.
In the interim period it would be used for temporary accommodation for those facing homelessness. The council would have also used a proportion of the sale proceeds for essential maintenance works including a replacement boiler. 
The Labour and Green Party cabinet agreed the recommendations at its March meeting but the cabinet member responsible, Sara Burch, said between the cabinet report being written and presented to the meeting a “qualifying purchaser” had been identified. 
Cllr Burch said as a result the recommendations were a contingency and the property will remain as a low cost home. 
The report stated since April 2025 three other properties at Castlewood were sold to “suitable purchasers” after being advertised on the Homesearch website and they remain as low cost home ownership properties. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

By BBC LDRS ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​