RHE Review of Housing & Planning Bill 2015

What sort of a 'House' do you live in?

While I was busy dipping my toes (toes only) in the Atlantic at Biarritz last week, the Government finally published the Housing & Planning Bill 2015, I was blissfully unaware.

So back at my desk I have read the Bill and the accompanying Explanatory Notes and can give a 60 second account of what is in it and how it might affect future provision of affordable homes for local people in Berkshire.  60 seconds because as ever the Bill is not overly laden with detail but full of expressions like: "The Secretary of State may by regulations amend..." or, "regulations may make provision for..."

There is good news for people who are interested in Self-Build as Local Authorities have a duty to grant planning permission for enough serviced plots to meet the demand for this type of housebuilding in their area.   Again, we need to see the full detail, but  this may well include Community Led Buildings. So if you have an idea for some Community Led Housing do get in touch and we can see what support there is out there to get your project off the ground.

For me the more important items in the Bill were regarding Starter Homes and the extended Right to Buy.  Both of these things have been much discussed over the summer as bits have leaked out.  Again the full detail is yet to be revealed but here is a summary:

Starter Homes:   This is a new tenure introduced by the government. Starter Home will be: 

• available to purchase at 20% off the open market value 
• for people who are under the age of 40 and are first time buyers.  
• property values have a cap of £250,000 (outside London) which may limit what sort of Starter Homes we will get in high value Berkshire.  

It is expected that further regulations will be issued that will put some limits on time frames before these houses can be resold or let out privately to prevent investors making a quick profit.

Local Authorities will now have a duty to promote Starter Homes in their policies. This will likely be Planning obligations  by means of S106 conditions on Planning Applications, in much the same way affordable housing quotas have been met in the past.

What isn't clear is whether this is at the expense of affordable rented and shared ownership tenures.  The Government seems to be moving away from the provision of affordable housing for rent.

The Bill makes absolutely no reference to exception sites. However as the regulations are released it is anticipated that there will be exemptions in the regulations regarding certain areas.

Extended Right to Buy - Also included in the Bill is the acceptance of a voluntary deal between the National Housing Federation and and the Government to extend the Right to Buy to Housing Association tenants who rent their properties.  As a result of the 'Voluntary Deal' there is actually very little detail in the Bill about the extension.  It is expected that sufficient demand for home ownership through exercising Right to Buy will be met by the Associations that have opted into the deal to avoid any further legislation at this time.  

Right to Buy means that Housing Association tenants will be able to purchase their properties at a discounted rate.  The discounts will be reimbursed to the Housing Association by means of Homes and Communities Agency grants.  

It is unclear how this will impact on properties on existing exception sites. There are certainly implications for future exception sites, as landowners will be reluctant to release land for development of homes that may be sold.

Vacant High Value Local Authority Housing Also included in the Bill is a requirement for Local Authorities to make payments to the Secretary of State for any empty high value stock (to be defined in further regulations).  Local Authorities are encouraged to sell any high value stock that becomes vacant.  In places where there has been a stock transfer, that includes transferred stock.  These payments will help to fund the Right to Buy discounts. There are no rural exemptions.

There are many other provisions in the Bill including changes in planning regulations that affect Neighbourhood Plans and grant the Secretary of State additional powers particularly where a Local Authority is under-performing on delivery of planning decisions or delivery of Local Plans.

To read the Bill and follow its progress through Parliament click the link: Housing & Planning Bill 2015

Comment
Home-ownership is indeed desirable for most people,  truthfully though, not feasible for many people. There must be alternatives that are affordable and secure.  I appreciate that there is no longer treasury funding to develop new houses for social rent.  However I am gravely concerned in the midst of an enormous housing crisis the Government's response is to sell off the little social housing we have at discounted rates in order to develop homes for sale with not even a mention of the people who are destined to rent for their entire lives.

Arlene Kersley
Rural Housing Enabler for Berkshire
arlene.kersley@ccberks.org.uk