As Aurora Affordable Homes celebrates the acquisition of its 100th home, a young couple has spoken of their experience living under an Aurora roof.
Mark and Chelsea Coltman have been renting their affordable home from Aurora Affordable Homes for nearly five years having been privately renting for eight years before that.
Aurora Affordable Homes, are a wholly owned subsidiary company of North Tyneside Council and provide homes across the borough to support the Council’s ambitious programme to deliver 5,000 affordable homes.
Speaking on their experience, Chelsea said: “We have been with Aurora for five years now. Before renting from Aurora, we lived in a private rented property for over eight years and always didn’t feel safe, it did feel like our home.
“We started off renting our first home but were asked due to the landlord wanting to sell it. When I explained our situation to Aurora Homes, they were happy to help and took us through the application process and supported us throughout.”
And now, with the arrival of their second child, they recently moved into a larger Aurora home in July 2023.
Settling into their new home with their young family came easily to Chelsea and Mark – and they quickly made it their own and settled into the local community.
“We now have a beautiful home with Aurora to suit our growing family. The home is very spacious and there is enough room for our children. It is decorated very well and the fittings are second to none. We love our home and are very happy here.
“The local community has a good community spirit and neighbours are always on hand to help if needed.
“We are particularly proud of how far we have come given the various things we have had to overcome since our first home with Aurora and the sense of making our new house feel like a proper home.”
Aurora Affordable Homes was set up by North Tyneside Council in 2015 to deliver high-quality affordable homes and support the authority’s ambition to provide 5,000 affordable homes for local people.
It provides an affordable alternative to privately rented properties across the borough, with a number of tenants being able to save money to move on and purchase their own property.
The Aurora Affordable Homes team provide bespoke support for every tenant and are always on hand to help. Their work has been recognised nationally by the Local Government Chronicle who have shortlisted them for the Small Team of the Year award.
Chelsea added: “We have received amazing support from Aurora homes. Nothing is ever a trouble for them and any issues we have had are dealt with immediately. Although you have to ask for permission to change things they are very flexible to ensure your home feels like your own.
“All the team at Aurora are absolutely fantastic. Kate, the Property Officer for Aurora Affordable Homes has been with us from the very beginning of our journey and her support and dedication to us as tenants has been above and beyond. She has always been understanding in any issues we have had and always ensures we feel happy being in our home. We could not have secured our first home and continue being an Aurora tenant without this support.
“I would recommend Aurora to anyone that may be in need of an affordable home as I want those to feel as happy and safe as we do.”
Aurora Affordable Homes was set up by North Tyneside Council in 2015 and has gone from strength to strength, recently acquiring its 100th affordable home and securing funding to further this number.
Aurora Affordable Homes has contributed to the borough’s housing growth at no additional cost to the taxpayer and has now begun an ambitious programme of acquiring homes specifically for residents who require specialist accommodation to live independently.
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