The Housing Forum has responded to the Government's consultation on the Right to Buy. The Right to Buy policy reduces the supply of affordable housing: - When a home is sold it will never again become available for a new household in need of social housing. It will never be possible to replace the homes that are sold on a one for one, like for like basis, meaning that the Right to Buy causes a gradual erosion of the housing that is most directly available to relieve homelessness and housing need. - The presence of the Right to Buy deters councils from building new homes. Many of our members are keen to build new council homes, but are forced to set up complex legal structures in order to avoid risking losing them – in some cases within months of the first let. The Housing Forum’s view is therefore that the Right to Buy should be abolished. We are, however, supportive of the reforms proposed because they will slow the loss of social housing stock. We set out our proposals for reform in our paper Reforming the Right to Buy last year (https://lnkd.in/euNQmwFK), and are pleased to see that some of our suggestions have been picked up in the consultation document. The main points we raise in the consultation response are: - Eligibility criteria should be tightened so as to ensure that the scheme is used by its intended beneficiaries (longer term tenants who intend to remain living in the home and are capable of sustaining homeownership) - Discounts should be reduced, to a maximum of 20% - Councils should be given discretion to exclude properties from the scheme, such as those in particularly short supply locally. - Newbuild housing, built after these changes are made should be permanently excluded. - Councils should be free to use the receipts however they see fit, to replace the housing or invest in existing homes. https://lnkd.in/e3nCCj-h
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Senior Recruitment Consultant sourcing top talent in the Housing and Support sectors across London and the South East
𝗜𝘀 𝗮 “𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗺” 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗞? The UK has long struggled with building social homes, with successive governments setting ambitious targets that rarely seem to be met. The effects of these failures are increasingly evident to anyone aware of the housing crisis. Temporary accommodation bills have soared, and finding an affordable place to rent, let alone buy, has become more challenging. Coupled with a growing homeless population, action is certainly overdue. The incoming Labour Party (UK) aims to address these issues, but an interesting article from BBC News outlines some significant challenges they may face: 🛠 𝗖𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗿𝘀: The disrepair in current housing stock is evident, with long-term underinvestment leading to foreseeable issues. New legislation following the Grenfell tragedy and the death of Awaab Ishak has prompted housing providers to ensure safe cladding and improve damp conditions. The National Housing Federation has estimated this cost at £6 billion. This reduces budgets for building new homes. 💷 𝗟𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲: Capping social rents is costing housing providers around £3 billion in lost revenue. Additionally, uncertainty about future social rent changes makes it difficult for providers to predict available funds for new homes. 📋 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴: There is a disparity between the homes being built and those required. Housing providers report a surplus of one-bedroom flats, while their waiting lists are filled with young families who need larger homes. These unpurchased flats prevent construction firms from reinvesting in more suitable homes. Each of these issues alone could derail house-building plans, but together they present the incoming government with a “perfect storm.” I look forward to seeing how they plan to overcome these hurdles and would appreciate my network’s thoughts on the issue too! https://lnkd.in/erdxwSRH
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CEO Blueprint Institute. Pragmatic, rigorous and collaborative approach to solving complex issues. Experienced Board chair, former Deputy Secretary, McKinsey, Stanford MBA
There's no doubt that housing, and how we make it affordable, while ensuring we enrich and enhance communities and lives are hot topics. The top two issues candidates in NSW's upcoming council elections identified in a recent survey conducted by The Sydney Morning Herald were "preserving local heritage" and "integrity & community consultation", both issues that speak to the complexities of our current planning system and how it is and isn't working when it comes to housing. In Australia, the path to homeownership is a slow one. The current structure of council, state and federal governments roles and responsibilities lend themselves to endless cycles of frustration and gridlock. Inefficient planning processes and endless negotiations between local councils and state governments are stalling development and leaving the housing market in a state of disarray. As demand for homes skyrockets, the struggle to navigate these bureaucratic barriers is pushing the dream of owning a home further out of reach for many Australians. That's why in our recent report -- Wicked Solutions: A long term approach to housing affordability, we're calling for an overhaul of decision-making processes for planning and land use. We need to streamline a multitude of overlapping and confusing processes, and better equip decision-making bodies with the resources they need to approve development approvals through, whilst engaging local voices early to ensure that the development serves community needs. Read the 'Wicked Solutions' report for our ideas on how to improve planning efficiency via the link below or on our website! https://lnkd.in/g78ghzeH The Sydney Morning Herald Cindy Yin Anthony Segaert Kevin McCann Susan McKinnon Foundation Nigel Gladstone Sophie Black Jae Lubberink Claire Poulton Lachlan Crombie Ian Hancock
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Data | PR | Policy | Public Affairs | Strategic Communications | Managing Director at Be The Best Communications
We worked with The Hyde Group to dig into the latest data on housing last week to find this story – affordable housing starts fell 88% in London and 39% nationally. Affordable housing starts in the capital have plummeted from 26,386 starts in 2022-23 to just 3,156 starts in 2023-24. So far, this stark drop in affordable housing starts has been covered by The BBC, The Evening Standard, Inside Housing and Property Week. The Chief Executive of The Hyde Group, Andy Hulme, has used the latest data to call on the government to make social housing financially sustainable to build and maintain again. Andy said: “It is fair to say that England is now in the grips of a housing emergency. "The most acute housing problem is the steep long-term fall in the supply of social housing, which has fallen off a cliff over the past thirty years. "Solving an emergency situation is not possible with business as usual solutions. To solve the housing emergency, we have to make social housing financially sustainable to build and maintain again. “To tackle the housing emergency, we need more grant funding to build more social homes and we need a more ambitious ten-year rent settlement that includes a fair approach to rent convergence.”
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We welcome the proposals from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to update the National Planning Policy Framework in a number of key areas. A well-functioning planning system is key to delivering the homes we need. The Housing Forum has called for a number of reforms in our recent reports on the planning system and our Manifesto for Housing 2024 including: -The restoration of housing targets with incentives for local authorities to meet them. -Support for local authorities to review their green belt land. -A higher proportion of social and affordable homes on green belt land. Our recent report on reforming the Right to Buy also raised issues with the size of discounts on offer and the lack of flexibility for councils to use receipts to build more social homes. It is therefore encouraging to see these recommendations being echoed up by government in their announcements today. Responding to the news, Anna Clarke, Director of Policy and Affairs said: "It is encouraging to see more detail following on from Labour's pre-election pledge to reform the planning system and get Britain building. Setting an ambitious target of 370,000 homes, and working with councils to achieve this in their local areas, sets a clear direction from the top of government to those involved in delivering these homes. An emphasis on social and affordable housing is particularly welcome, and funding is really needed here, alongside trying to get as much as possible when building on greenbelt sites. While we suffer a shortage of homes of all tenures, a lack of social housing is having a particular impact, not least on the 105,000 households in temporary accommodation. We look forward to working with government to fleshing out these plans further in responding to the consultation on the NPPF, which we will respond to on behalf of Housing Forum members." We are also very pleased to see reports in the press that the Chancellor will lift funding for affordable housing, and introduce longer term rent settlements. Anna Clarke, Director of Policy and Affairs said: "This will be widely welcomed by housing associations and councils as security over their future income will enables them to plan, to borrow and to build new homes with confidence." https://lnkd.in/efXsYArs
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Head of Redevelopment Communications, Southwark Councillor, Deputy Chair LGA Local Infrastructure and Net Zero Board, MSc Urban Planning
Here's a piece I wrote for The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)'s Progressing Planning Blog on the state of our housing crisis. The UK faces a severe housing crisis with 1.2 million households on growing social housing waiting lists and 113,000 in temporary accommodation. Rising costs and stagnant wages have made cities like London unaffordable for many (importantly the low and middle income earners we need to thrive). Demand-side policies have failed, highlighting the need for increased home supply, especially social housing. As a Southwark councillor, I see firsthand the consequences of empty council homes and the strain on resources. We need substantial reforms, long-term funding, and a national council housebuilding taskforce to address this crisis and provide secure, affordable housing for all. https://lnkd.in/e726bXEF
Thank you Victor Chamberlain for this very insightful blog! The UK is facing an unprecedented housing crisis. In England, 1.2 million households are on social housing lists, and 113,000 are in temporary accommodation. High prices and rents, paired with stagnant wages, are making cities like London unaffordable for many families. Attempts like Help-to-Buy have been insufficient. We need a significant increase in the supply of homes, particularly social housing. Local governments must have the tools and funding to build and refurbish homes effectively. In Southwark, where Victor serves as a councillor, many council homes remain empty due to redevelopment plans and poor conditions. Addressing the £4 billion funding gap and reforming Right to Buy policies are essential steps. A national taskforce could support local authorities in building affordable homes. By empowering councils, we can tackle this crisis and ensure everyone has a secure, affordable home. Let's unite to address the UK’s housing crisis and keep our cities vibrant and inclusive. https://wp.me/pbr1s0-250 #HousingCrisis #AffordableHousing #SocialHousing #UKPolitics #LocalGovernment #CommunityDevelopment
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Thank you Victor Chamberlain for this very insightful blog! The UK is facing an unprecedented housing crisis. In England, 1.2 million households are on social housing lists, and 113,000 are in temporary accommodation. High prices and rents, paired with stagnant wages, are making cities like London unaffordable for many families. Attempts like Help-to-Buy have been insufficient. We need a significant increase in the supply of homes, particularly social housing. Local governments must have the tools and funding to build and refurbish homes effectively. In Southwark, where Victor serves as a councillor, many council homes remain empty due to redevelopment plans and poor conditions. Addressing the £4 billion funding gap and reforming Right to Buy policies are essential steps. A national taskforce could support local authorities in building affordable homes. By empowering councils, we can tackle this crisis and ensure everyone has a secure, affordable home. Let's unite to address the UK’s housing crisis and keep our cities vibrant and inclusive. https://wp.me/pbr1s0-250 #HousingCrisis #AffordableHousing #SocialHousing #UKPolitics #LocalGovernment #CommunityDevelopment
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Rising house prices and soaring rents are forcing more UK residents to seek help from local authorities. However, a reduction in council house building, the sale of Right to Buy properties, and the rise of Airbnbs have squeezed the supply of housing, leaving councils with little accommodation to meet the increasing demand. Last year, the number of people living in temporary accommodation in England hit a 25-year high at 105,000 households, with councils spending around £1.7bn on providing the service. Meanwhile, 1.21m households are on local authorities’ waiting lists for social housing in England, according to the latest government statistics. So, is creating a housing company a good solution for councils when addressing the current need and demand for housing? Find out more at https://bit.ly/3XIA6VI
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interesting figures...
Founder at ITP Group & Host of The Rodcast - A podcast about asset backed businesses/investments
ENGLANDS HOUSING CRISIS I have taken the figures that have recently been released by the government on Housing Tenure in the UK and put them into a graph showing the last 25 years. Just look at the anaemic private rental sector growth over the last 10 years and it has been progressively getting worse. In the 8 years since George Osbourne announced tax changes to landlords the PRS grew by just 3.4%! Compare that to the previous 8 years where growth was 75%!!! No that is not a typo. The amount of private sector homes actually decreased from 2016 and didn't get back to that figure until 2021! You know what correlates with this... Increased rental costs for tenants! We cannot just blame Georgie boy. There have been so many regulatory changes that being a landlord is just not as appealing as it was. What is concerning is those regulations seem to be getting tighter under the new government. In the last year up to 2023 there was only 35,000 net new private rented homes. This would be fine if Registered Providers of Social Homes and Local Authorities were picking up the slack but unfortunately they are no better. In fact Local Authorities have been in steady decline! What is even more terrifying is how many net new households are created each year. That number is over 200,000 (Not including Net migration figures which were 866,000 individuals last year) and we have a backlog of over 5million people (approx 2 million Households) on social housing waiting lists. Government needs to understand they desperately need to encourage the PRS. Government are you understanding this? numbers to the nearest 1000 (add three zero's)
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If you, like me, have been confused, shocked even, by the recent Vic govt housing announcements, this article by Kate Shaw in the The Age establishes the situation, benchmarked against nations we might like to compare ourselves with. “Victoria’s 10 per cent “affordable” concession is not even for public or community housing. The government has defined affordable housing as that where a rental price is 90 per cent of the market rate. According to recent figures, the market rent for a two-bedroom unit in Preston is $500 a week; the “affordable” version is $450. In Kew, the market rent for a two-bedroom apartment is about $30,000 a year, while an “affordable” apartment is about $27,000 a year. If a household is to pay not more than 30 per cent of its net income on rent (a basic tenet of affordable housing policies around the world), it must earn a minimum $120,000 gross.” We can and must do much better. State debt cannot be grounds for entrenching poverty and inequality for generations to come. We are not that kind of people. #affordablehousing #socialhousing #development Tom Niklai Alex Zafiriadis https://lnkd.in/gYmQK7AD
For-Profit Social Housing Sector expert
2moIt seems these concessions are so complex (and political) that cancelling the scheme is the only sensible way to start amassing a workable number of social homes again.