Cymraeg

Tenancies

The Trustees own some 50 residential properties situated in Llanfrothen, mostly in and around the village of Garreg and the Croesor Valley

House Lettings

The properties are easily identifiable by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis’s green paint, which is evident somewhere on most. Over the years the Trustees have invested heavily in their portfolio of residential properties to provide modern, comfortable homes, whilst recognising the local vernacular and traditional features that most of the cottages have.

Tenancies

Tenancies
The houses on the Estate are let in accordance with the Trustees’ House Letting Policy, a copy of which can be viewed by following the link below. The objectives of the lettings policy are to:

  • Safeguard the buildings by keeping them occupied and in good repair;
  • Find tenants keen to make a contribution to the community and with skills enabling them to support the Charity’s aims in the area;
  • Retain people (including young people) in the area; and
  • Maintain the linguistic pattern.

Rents for the cottages are discounted in recognition of the Trustees’ desire to create a thriving rural community where history, culture and language are respected and embraced.

Generally, there is a great demand for the houses on the Brondanw Estate and in order to keep a record of those interested, a waiting list is maintained.

Balfours

Usually, when letting houses the Managing Agents will refer to the waiting list and or advertise the property locally in newspapers and on To Let boards. The actual selection of tenants is done by the Managing Agents in consultation with the local Trustees.

Enquiries for property on the Estate should be made to the Trustees’ agents, Balfours

Farms

The vast majority of the land of the Brondanw Estate is lotted into farms and let to families who, in some cases, have had the land under their stewardship for generations. There are three principal holdings on the Estate, Garreg Hylldrem, Glan y Wern and Croesor Uchaf, together with a number of smaller lettings. One of the farms has ‘organic’ status, whilst the others are run more conventionally. Given the terrain, stocking is sympathetic and the farms support native breeds such as Welsh Black Cattle and Welsh Mountain Sheep.

Contact Details

To apply for a tenancy of one of the Brondanw Estate properties. Or for further information, please contact Balfours.

The Ymddiriedolaeth Clough Williams-Ellis Foundation owns some 50 residential units in Llanfrothen, mostly in and around Garreg and the Croesor Valley. The majority of these are let to people living in them full time. The Foundation also owns land and buildings at Portmeirion which are leased to the hotel operating company.

The Foundation’s Objectives for Housing
In accordance with the Foundation’s overall aim of holistic conservation, the main objectives of the house letting policy are:

i. To safeguard the physical contribution the houses and cottages make to the historic built environment;

ii. To retain people in the area (hopefully including young people);

iii. To further the Foundation’s work in the locality through selection of tenants with suitable skills, and where possible to favour those contributing to the community;

iv. To maintain the linguistic pattern; and

v. To generate rental income to support the Foundation’s purposes.

Background
i) The Foundation was previously endowed with funds invested in the stock market. However, over the years these have been drawn down and used, in conjunction with mortgage borrowing, for property improvements, purchases and initiatives such as hydroelectric generation schemes.

ii) The Foundation’s principal source of income is rent from its land and buildings, with some variable contributions from hydroelectric generation and residual share investments. If the Trustees are to keep the Estate in good order and maintain and improve the Foundation’s properties on a sustainable basis, they have to charge rents which will allow them to do this.

iii) A Housing Association can charge "social" rents (which can be as low as half open market rentals) only because they are subsidised by the taxpayer. The Foundation, although it is a registered Charity, does not receive any grants or subsidies for this purpose. As a general policy, the Trustees aim to set rentals somewhere between "social" and open market levels.

Private Rent Rebate Scheme
The Trustees appreciate that local wage levels make it difficult for some people to pay the Foundation’s rents, and some years ago they became aware of the difference between:

i) Someone who is unemployed and therefore entitled to a government housing benefit; and

ii) Someone who is in employment and therefore may not be entitled to government benefits.

The former may have all or most of their rent paid by the state, while the latter may get little or no government help.

As a result, in 1997 the Trustees set up their own private Rent Rebate Scheme, administered by the Local Authority and Balfours, the Foundation’s managing agents. This is aimed at those who are in employment but are either just failing to qualify for the government housing benefit or do just qualify but at such a low level that the amount received is of little help. Details of this scheme are forwarded to all prospective applicants for tenancies.

Selection of Tenants
i) In selecting tenants for vacant houses, the Foundation will first consider requests from existing tenants wishing to relocate to more suitable accommodation within the Estate.

ii) The following factors are considered in selecting tenants for all lettings:

  • The ability of the person to pay the rent and the running costs of the property (determined through financial references and a credit check);
  • The compatibility of the tenant with the property, e.g. its location, size, number of rooms, accessibility, garage/parking, garden, etc; and
  • The need for tenants to be sympathetic to the nature and situation of the property and the Foundation’s aims to protect its character.

iii) Where, for any particular letting, the Foundation has a choice of prospective tenants who meet the above criteria equally well, those in the following categories (which are not listed in any particular order) will generally be favoured:

  • Those in local employment or who provide important local services;
  • Those who are Welsh speaking;
  • Those who can demonstrate a commitment to the local community; and
  • Those who live in, or have family connections with, the locality.

For tenancy selection and rent rebate:
To apply for a tenancy of one of the Brondanw Estate properties, or for further information about the Estate’s Rent Rebate Scheme, please contact Richard Jones-Perrott at Balfours.

Richard Jones-Perrott: richardjones-perrott@balfours.co.uk

Telephone: 01743 241181.