Posts with tag: affordable homes

Manchester Mayoral Candidate Calls for Homes for All

Published On: August 18, 2016 at 10:52 am

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As part of his plan to create homes for all, Manchester mayoral candidate Andy Burnham has called for councils to receive a fund to help them purchase private rental homes in a poor state of repair.

The Labour MP also pledged to introduce a licensing scheme for private landlords across Greater Manchester, and gain powers to regulate rent rises and property standards, if he is elected as mayor.

In a blog for Inside Housing magazine, Burnham proposed measures to tackle the housing crisis and drive out the “scourge of absent, private landlords that bedevils much of Greater Manchester”.

Manchester Mayoral Candidate Calls for Homes for All

Manchester Mayoral Candidate Calls for Homes for All

Burnham suggests that councils should be provided with loan finance to buy out private landlords if they believe they are not keeping their properties up to the decent homes standard.

His plans for a community buy-back fund would “have a number of benefits”, he says.

He explains: “First, it will quickly expand public housing stock. Second, it will bring rents down to an affordable level. Third, it will enhance the ability of councils to turn around struggling neighbourhoods. Fourth, it will bring down the housing benefit bill.”

However, the Head of Policy, Public Affairs and Research at the National Landlords Association (NLA), Chris Norris, has hit back at the suggestions of rent controls and licensing scheme.

“What is disappointing is the almost immediate reversion to policies of intervention and control, which are both outmoded and proven to fail,” he says. “The people of Greater Manchester deserve better than promises to seek powers to cap rents and drive investment from the area by licensing the good and well-meaning whilst the criminally negligent continue to ignore the law.”

But Norris adds that Burnham was “right to recognise the paramount importance of having a home” and to create homes of different tenure.

He seemed to applaud the policy to buy out rogue landlords, but is cautious: “We might question whether the local community will thank Mr. Burnham for effectively rewarding the poor and sometimes criminal performance of bad landlords with a golden handshake.”

Norris suggests that Burnham may be better to work with good landlords in Manchester and ensure they are “treated like the valuable part of the community they are, so they could help lead the local buy-back he so desires”.

Burnham also wants to increase council and social housing across Greater Manchester’s ten boroughs by extending the £300m housing fund to pay for these homes. Currently, the fund is limited to commercially-led housing development.

He believes that the majority of the fund should help provide loans and guarantees to councils and housing associations to build more affordable homes to rent.

“A small proportion of the new homes will be designated rent-to-own; available on a long-term lease to people under 35, and giving hope of homeownership to generation rent,” he states.

The Manchester mayoral election will be held in May 2017. Burnham’s opponents are yet to be announced.

The Housing Crisis is Deepening as Homeownership Remains Unaffordable

Published On: May 11, 2016 at 8:48 am

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The housing crisis is deepening, as homeownership remains unaffordable for the high number of aspiring first time buyers who cannot get onto the property ladder, according to new research conducted by YouGov on behalf of the HomeOwners Alliance and BLP Insurance.

The study, now in its fourth year, polls over 2,000 UK adults on their housing concerns and the latest trends affecting homeowners and those looking to buy a home.

The survey highlights the growing appetite of first time buyers to get on the housing ladder. Around three-quarters (73%) of non-homeowners now say they would like to own their own home, compared to 69% last year, 68% in 2014 and 65% in 2013.

The Housing Crisis is Deepening as Homeownership Remains Unaffordable

The Housing Crisis is Deepening as Homeownership Remains Unaffordable

Although the desire to own a home is mounting, the ability for first time buyers to purchase a property and save for a deposit remain the UK’s main concerns, with 82% and 80% respectively saying that these are serious issues.

Additionally, the proportion of aspiring homeowners who say that the availability of housing is a serious problem has soared to 78%, up from 72% last year. Hopeful homeowners are also increasingly concerned about the quality of housing, with 60% naming it a serious issue.

The study also found that the housing crisis is most severe in the capital. However, the new Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has set ambitious aims to tackle the shortage of affordable housing.

Positively, there was a noticeable drop in concern about the rates of Stamp Duty, after the Government’s reforms were introduced almost two years ago.

However, landlords are now facing a further 3% in Stamp Duty on buy-to-let properties. Concerns have been raised that landlords may decide to leave the sector, which would cause a decline in private rental property stock; further exacerbating the affordability crisis.

The Chief Executive of the HomeOwners Alliance, Paula Higgins, comments on the results: “Despite a blizzard of Government initiatives aimed at helping homeowners, the housing crisis is deepening across the country, with ever more non-homeowners wanting their own home, and ever greater concern about the lack of housing.

“Many Government policies have boosted demand for homes, but what this survey shows is that the real problem is the desperate shortage of houses. Until the Government tackles the fundamental issue that we just don’t have enough good quality homes, the housing crisis will continue to deepen and a generation will continue to have their dreams of homeownership crushed.”

The Chief Executive of BLP Insurance, Kim Vernau, also responds: “We are now at a critical juncture for the construction industry and housing market. The Government urgently needs to speed up the delivery of new homes for aspiring first time buyers. Tenures of all types are required across the country, and affordable housing and social housing should also be a priority.”

With a high number of prospective first time buyers struggling to purchase their own homes, demand for private rental property looks set to remain strong. Therefore, good landlords that stick to the law and rent out good quality homes are crucial – make sure you check LandlordNews.co.uk regularly for landlord updates.

Average Tenant Has Spent £40,000 on Rent in the Last Five Years, Says Shelter

Published On: March 3, 2016 at 3:34 pm

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The average private tenant in England has spent more than £40,000 on rent over the last five years, according to a new report from homelessness charity Shelter.

The findings arrive as the Housing and Planning Bill continues making its way through the House of Lords today.

Shelter found that the average cost of renting a two-bedroom property is enough to put down a 20% deposit on a typical first time buyer home.

In London, the average rent on a two-bed home is much higher, at £89,000, according to the charity’s calculations.

The Chief Executive of Shelter, Campbell Robb, says: “Our drastic shortage of affordable homes is leaving millions of people stuck in their childhood bedrooms in a bid to save money, or in expensive and unstable private renting, with little hope of ever saving for a home to put down roots in.”1 

The Housing and Planning Bill seeks to introduce a series of changes that David Cameron believes will turn generation rent into generation buy.

It includes extending the Right to Buy scheme to housing association tenants, which Shelter says will aggravate the housing shortage.

Councils would be forced to fund the policy by selling off their most high-value assets. However, peers are warning that the policy could lead to a decline in the supply of affordable homes.

Average Tenant Has Spent £40,000 on Rent Over the Last Five Years, Says Shelter

Average Tenant Has Spent £40,000 on Rent in the Last Five Years, Says Shelter

Cross-bench peer Lord Kerslake, the former head of the Government’s Homes and Communities Agency, warns: “It’s very hard to make the numbers work and it’s very hard to find the land.”

Lord Kerslake has jointly tabled an amendment to the Housing and Planning Bill, which would force councils to replace the properties sold off with similar homes in their own area.

Peers are also expressing their concerns over the Government’s Starter Homes scheme.

These new build homes would be sold at a 20% discount to first time buyers under 40. The properties can be worth up to £450,000 in London and £250,000 elsewhere.

However, by urging housebuilders to prioritise Starter Homes, there are concerns that local authorities will throw out genuine affordable housing.

Kerslake comments that the policy would be a “cash bonanza” for homebuyers, many of whom could have bought their own home without the scheme.

“It’s a hell of an offer for people who have to be reasonably well-heeled to afford it,”1 he states.

A study by the Town and Country Planning Association has revealed that four out of five councils do not believe that Starter Homes are affordable.

Dame Kate Barker, who conducted a review of housing supply for Gordon Brown, told the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee in December: “I do feel uncomfortable about a set of policies that are designed to be supportive of people who are just on the cusp of being able to buy and need nudging over the edge.”1

And the Shadow Housing Minister, John Healey, has said: “The forced sale of council homes will lead to a huge, irreversible loss of genuinely affordable homes to buy and rent.

“At a time when more affordable homes are desperately needed, the Government is forcing the sale of many of those that are left – not to tenants, but to buy-to-let landlords and overseas speculators.

“This will make finding an affordable home even harder for young people and families on ordinary incomes. But it’s also bad news for taxpayers, because it means more people renting privately and housing benefit rising to cover the cost.”1

However, a spokesperson for the Department for Communities and Local Government insists: “The Government is also supporting the boldest plan for housing by any government since the 1970s and is creating a bigger, better private rented sector that will increase choice for tenants.”1

Recent research found that the private rental sector is expected to grow to 30% of all households in the next 30 years.

1 http://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/mar/03/tenant-paid-40000-rent-five-years-shelter

Housing and Planning Bill Passes Report Stage

Published On: January 6, 2016 at 9:23 am

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Last night, the Housing and Planning Bill passed its report stage in the House of Commons.

After many official announcements beforehand, the debate started in the evening.

The bill is now set for its third reading. It is the first bill with an English legislative stage, with only English MPs allowed to vote on certain sections. The date for the English stage and third reading is yet to be confirmed.

Housing and Planning Bill Passes Report Stage

Housing and Planning Bill Passes Report Stage

The bill will introduce a blacklist of rogue landlords and letting agents, which will be made available to local authorities and central Government.

Additionally, for the first time, the bill will make it possible to ban landlords and agents from the industry. However, at present, the bill still allows banned letting agents to set up as estate agents.

Amendment 16, tabled by the Government, will raise the maximum fine for someone caught renting out substandard accommodation from £5,000 to £30,000.

The bill will also extend the Right to Buy scheme to housing association tenants and force local authorities to build starter homes for first time buyers; opponents have attacked the laws, believing they will bring an end to social housing.

A few hours before the debate yesterday, protestors gathered in Parliament Square to voice their opinions.

Green Party MP Caroline Lucas, representing Brighton Pavilion, voted against the bill.

She explains: “The housing crisis is biting hard. Renting is unaffordable, our social housing stock is dwindling and buying a home is still an impossible dream for many. And, as with so many of the challenges our society faces, it is the young who are suffering the worst.

“The Government had an opportunity to utterly rethink the housing model, but instead, Parliament is being presented with legislation that’s going to make the situation far worse and put another nail in the coffin for British social housing.”

However, she adds: “There are a few good measures in the bill. The provisions on rogue landlords, letting agents and the introduction of a brownfield register are welcome, but they simply don’t go far enough to protect renters or encourage the building of truly affordable homes.

“The overall effect of this legislation will be to inflict further harm on those already suffering and to drag more people into the housing crisis. It will decrease the amount of social housing, fail to bring down sky-high rental costs and do nothing to keep people warm in their homes.

“For example, the bill should have looked at ways to make rents fall, but it doesn’t even go as far as bringing in smart rent controls to keep them in line with inflation.”

She concludes: “The housing crisis we’re facing is the result of botched policies by successive Governments, and this latest bill is set to compound that failure.”1

What are your views on the new bill?

1 http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/housing-and-planning-bill-set-to-raise-fines-against-agents-and-landlords-to-30000/

Only a Huge House Building Scheme Will Keep Housing Under Control, says NAEA and ARLA

Published On: January 5, 2016 at 3:04 pm

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The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) and the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) have responded to ministers over the housing crisis. They believe that the only way to control the property market is through “a massive house building programme”.

The call is included in the organisations’ response to a Government consultation on housing.

Only a Huge House Building Scheme Will Keep Housing Under Control, says NAEA and ARLA

Only a Huge House Building Scheme Will Keep Housing Under Control, says NAEA and ARLA

The document states that to increase the supply of reasonably priced homes, finance, land, time and skill are necessary.

“We need to stop thinking of housing policy in five-year election cycles and adopt a long-term approach to this critical issue,” it argues.

The response lists a number of measures that would help increase the amount of affordable homes.

It notes: “Bricks and other materials must be ordered a year before a home can be built and the UK needs skilled workers to ensure that properties are built to a high standard.”

It says that homes must be built on “suitable land that is located along existing transport corridors” and the “supply of reasonably priced housing coincides with infrastructure improvements”.

The groups also urge these homes to be built alongside “schools, hospitals, local shops and green spaces”, and believe better use of “unused public sector land” would benefit the market. This has been pledged in the latest Government starter homes scheme: /house-builders-respond-to-governments-latest-home-building-plans/

Once the homes are built, the NAEA and ARLA insist that “people need support in accessing finance to purchase property”, as house prices still exceed wages.

On private rental sector improvements, the document states: “ARLA believes that full mandatory Government regulation of sales and letting agents is the quickest and most effective method to eliminate unprofessional, unqualified and unethical agents from the rental market.”

“We think increasing supply of rental properties and raising standards across the industry must go hand-in-hand,” it adds.

The response – to the House of Lords Select Committee on Economic Affairs Inquiries into the Economics of the UK Housing Market – also warns against rent controls, claiming that if limitations on rent increases were introduced, landlords would start new tenancies with higher rents to prevent losses.

It says: “Higher rents would be essential to ensure mortgage payments and maintenance costs could be met.”1

1 http://www.naea.co.uk/media/1043996/naea-arla-response-to-house-of-lords-inquiry-into-economics-of-uk-housing-market.pdf

 

 

 

 

House Builders Respond to Government’s Latest Home Building Plans

Published On: January 5, 2016 at 12:02 pm

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The Government has announced that it will directly commission thousands of new build homes on publicly owned land, allowing smaller house builders to create developments.

The first phase of the plan will include up to 13,000 homes, of which up to 40% will be discounted starter homes for first time buyers, offered at a 20% price reduction.

The initial five sites are in northwest London, Northstowe in Cambridgeshire, Dover, Chichester and Gosport in Hampshire.

Over the next five years, further brownfield sites will be pushed through the planning process, leading to the development of at least 30,000 new starter homes on 500 sites.

The Government described the scheme as a “radical new policy shift not used on this scale since Thatcher and Heseltine started the Docklands”1.

House Builders Respond to Government's Latest Home Building Plans

House Builders Respond to Government’s Latest Home Building Plans

It previously announced a commitment to providing 200,000 starter homes by 2020.

The Prime Minister, David Cameron, said: “This Government was elected to deliver security and opportunity – whatever stage of life you’re at. Nothing is more important to achieving that than ensuring hard-working people can buy affordable homes.

“Today’s package signals a huge shift in Government policy. Nothing like that has been done on this scale in three decades; Government rolling its sleeves up and directly getting homes built.”1

House builders believe it is positive that the Government is addressing the housing crisis, while an organisation for protecting rural England insists that the scheme will not even help wealthy youngsters get on the property ladder.

Executive Director of the Home Builders Federation, Stewart Baseley, comments: “House building rates have been increasing at the steepest rates for decades, with additional supply reaching 171,000 last year.

“But we welcome the fact that the Government is clearly prioritising housing supply rates, particularly with regard to streamlining the process of building homes on public sector land.

“If we are to address the chronic shortage of homes that has developed over decades, strong Government leadership is essential.”

He continues: “Allowing smaller builders to access publicly owned sites is a welcome move that must be part of a wider set of measures to assist SME builders [small and medium sized house builders] and get more players on the pitch.

“Clearly the devil will be in the detail and we await further information.”

Baseley adds: “Direct commissioning will only be successful if it speeds up the release of public sector land and results in more house building than would have happened using the more traditional methods of public-sector land disposal.

“A lower-risk model could allow larger builders to increase their output still further, while also enabling smaller house builders to increase output. Both have an essential role to play. It is not a question of either/or.”2

But the Campaign to Protect Rural England has another argument, stating that the Government’s plans to build the homes “at just 20% off ludicrous market values is a fatuous response to the biggest housing crisis since the Second World War”.

It claims: “At best, it will help those younger people on salaries far above the average, especially in London. Even a banker on £100,000 a year would struggle to raise a £400,000 mortgage, and that assumes a deposit of at least £50,000 – far above the average salary at £25,000 and utterly unreachable by anyone else.”3

1 https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-the-government-will-directly-build-affordable-homes

2 http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/smaller-developers-handed-housebuilding-boost/10001059.fullarticle

3 http://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/jan/04/housing-masterplan-needs-a-rethink