Posts with tag: housing crisis solutions

New Group Formed to Address Housing Crisis

Published On: August 5, 2015 at 2:54 pm

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The new All-Party Parliamentary Group for Housing and Planning has been formed to address the housing crisis.

The group’s secretariat will be the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

New Group Formed to Address Housing Crisis

New Group Formed to Address Housing Crisis

It will be chaired by James Cartlidge, the Conservative MP for South Suffolk and involve MPs from a range of urban and rural constituencies.

The group has four vice-chairmen, including the former housing minister, Mark Prisk.

Cartlidge explains the organisation’s objective: “Housing is increasingly becoming one of the most critical policy challenges facing local and national government, and with a housing bill pending, it is likely to become more political and controversial.

“In this context, a cross-party parliamentary group focused objectively on the national policy challenge of housing offers a vehicle for taking the debate forward in a way that is both positive and constructive.

“Having spent my working life in the shared ownership housing sector, I am acutely aware of the challenges facing first time buyers, particularly in London.

“Equally, as a rural MP, I recognise the need for development to be sustainable. Ultimately, there are a whole raft of complex issues in housing and planning today, but I hope that we can make a real contribution to the debate.”1

Sean Tompkins, Chief Executive of the RICS, says: “We currently need to build in the region of 245,000 homes every year if we are to address the UK’s housing crisis.

“The solutions we need must be innovative and wide-ranging, but also grounded within a political framework, which allows them to be implemented.”1

1 http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/new-all-party-committee-formed-to-look-into-housing-crisis/

Shelter Warns Against Rent Caps

Published On: July 8, 2015 at 2:52 pm

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Britain is currently suffering a housing crisis, which has prominently been caused by a lack of new affordable homes. This has caused to record levels of private renters, as homeownership and social renting declines.

Private renting was once a “stepping-stone” for students and young professionals, but is now the only option for one in four households.

Renting can be positive for some. However, many must deal with high rents, short-term tenancies and unexpected fees or rent rises. Families are the worst affected, as regular moves and increasing rents causes problems for children and finances. For every £10 the average tenant earns, £4 goes on rent.

This is why, says homelessness charity Shelter’s Campbell Robb, more renters are joining Shelter’s campaign to demand improvements in the sector. Find out more here: http://england.shelter.org.uk/professional_resources/policy_and_research/policy_library/policy_library_folder/making_renting_fit_for_families_the_impact_of_different_forms_of_rent_regulation

Shelter Warns Against Rent Caps

Shelter Warns Against Rent Caps

Robb asks: “Why don’t we just cap rents?”

This seems like a simple way to make renting cheaper for Britain’s 11m renters. But the issue is often debated.

Some believe that any intervention in the market, however small, will cause landlords to leave. Others argue that rent caps will bring rents down immediately.

Shelter has decided to find out for itself if rent caps would work, and if not, what would?

“We just want what’s best for tenants – and it was clear they needed some evidence on this issue – so we commissioned Cambridge University to look at various forms of rent regulation and model their potential effects,” says Robb.

The University’s study delivered a clear conclusion. Rent caps may be an easy solution, but they could cause more issues for tenants.

Robb explains: “The researchers predict that driving down the cost of rents in this way will cause evictions to rise, conditions to get worse and make it a lot tougher for anyone on a low income – especially those on housing benefit – to find somewhere to live.”

However, the research also revealed that the market could cope with being more supportive of families. The University’s economic model shows that it would be safe to introduce longer-term tenancies, in which rents could only increase by inflation.

Shelter has proposed five-year tenancies, which are successfully used internationally, which would provide stability for families. Households could also plan their finances more easily under these terms.

Although, Robb warns, this would not solve the problem of high rents.

He says: “And here, sadly, there is no short cut. If we’re serious about wanting house prices and rents to be more affordable, then we have to be building more genuinely affordable homes.”

In the last five years, the budget for building affordable homes was reduced by over 60%.

“There is no way out of this affordability crisis without more homes,” urges Robb.

He continues: “As the charity for people experiencing bad housing or homelessness, our focus has always been on what delivers for tenants. We’re proud to continue that tradition of standing up for renters today.

“In this case, what works best for them isn’t rent caps. Caps could end up making the lives of tenants on low incomes much more difficult, not easier. But that doesn’t mean we don’t need change. Renting families deserve the stability to raise their children that others have and this research shows that the market can offer that, and continue to strive.”1

Housing is extremely expensive in the UK, but this needs to change. Longer-term tenancies will not put first time buyers on the property ladder. However, building more homes will help households buy and benefit those that rent.

1 http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/campbell-robb/rent-cap_b_7734332.html?utm_hp_ref=uk

Government Housing Plan Due

Published On: July 8, 2015 at 10:49 am

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The Government has pledged to deliver an action plan this week, explaining how it will implement some of the vague policies it has already vowed, in a bid to solve the country’s housing crisis.

Government Housing Plan Due

Government Housing Plan Due

In an announcement at the weekend, the Department for Communities and Local Government said the plan was due “early” this week. However, the Chancellor’s Budget is scheduled for lunchtime today (Wednesday 8th July).

The Department for Communities and Local Government has outlined the Government’s main plans:

  • Help to Buy – to be extended to 2020.
  • Starter homes – 200,000 to be built in the next five years for first time buyers under 40-years-old at a 20% discount on open market values. 58,000 people have already signed up to this.
  • Right to Buy – to be expanded to include housing association tenants, at a discount of up to 70%.
  • Self-build – doubling the amount of custom built and self-built homes by 2020, by giving councils a new duty to help find land for those wanting to build their own home.
  • Public sector land – identify enough public sector land for 150,000 new homes over the next five years.
  • Brownfield sites – the Government hopes to unlock sites for 400,000 new homes on brownfield land. There is an existing commitment to ensure planning permission is in place on 90% of brownfield sites by 2020.
  • Further planning reform – a Department for Communities and Local Government statement says: “We will also take action on councils that have failed to produce a plan for the homes their community needs – ensuring plans are written for those areas.”1

1 https://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2015/7/government-housing-action-plan-coming-this-week

 

 

 

Last Time Buyer Market Reaches £820 Billion in Value

Published On: June 4, 2015 at 11:26 am

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The UK’s last time buyer market has reached a total of £820 billion in value, found research from Cebr, the economics consultancy and Legal & General.

Last Time Buyer Market Reaches £820 Billion in Value

Last Time Buyer Market Reaches £820 Billion in Value

This sector, of those buying their last home, also has 5.3m under-occupied properties. Within these homes, there are a total of 7.7m spare bedrooms.

The wealth of this market is expected to hit £1.2 trillion by 2020.

Director at Legal & General, Stephen Smith, says: “We currently have a housing crisis in the UK and there is a chronic shortage of appropriate properties to meet this huge demand. Government policy is focused on schemes to build more homes for first time buyers and to help people get onto the property ladder. Initiatives like Help to Buy, which encourage the building of more homes, are always very welcome.

“However, at present, the last time buyer market is being hugely overlooked and as our figures show it could help to solve the UK housing crisis.

“We need to make it easier for older people to even consider moving by relieving the onerous burden of Stamp Duty, creating better options for equity release and providing real alternatives for older people in terms of the types of home that they can live in and the infrastructure that surrounds them.

“If we are able to get that right we will help older people in the UK move to homes which better fit their lifestyles and their needs and at the same time unlock large swathes of valuable housing stock for growing families.”1 

1 http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/uks-last-time-buyer-market-swells-to-820bn.html

Labour’s New Shadow Chancellor Against Rent Controls (and He’s a Landlord)

Published On: June 3, 2015 at 1:53 pm

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Labour’s new shadow chancellor says that the political party should not have pledged rent controls to regulate landlords.

Chris Leslie, who has replaced Ed Balls, is a landlord himself. He believes that Labour’s housing policy of limiting the speed of rent rises troubled property investors by suggesting that fast increases exploit renters.

Labour's New Shadow Chancellor Against Rent Controls (and He's a Landlord)

Labour’s New Shadow Chancellor Against Rent Controls (and He’s a Landlord)

He says: “Part of the issue we always face on the centre-left is the temptation to want to control and run what’s going on in a particular market.

“It was reasonable to talk to people who were renting and say, ‘we understand your anxieties.’ But actually the solution is supply of housing and not necessarily implying that landlords are all exploitative and opportunistic.”

Mr. Leslie believes that improving consumer information, increasing transparency and initiating a Help to Build scheme to encourage developers to build more could solve the market.

“I personally feel that it’s got to be about consumer information, about blasting some transparency through these markets,”1 he says.

Mr. Leslie would prefer to see a new house-building scheme, rather than rent caps.

Parliament’s latest register of interests revealed that Mr. Leslie rents out a property in London.

Landlords do not account for a large number of voters, just 3% of the population. However, the amount of tenants renting from landlords makes up a more significant 15%.

According to polls conducted earlier this year, there is a great amount of support for rent controls.

A survey by YouGov revealed that just 8.6% of people are against compulsory rent caps and 59% support them.

The English Housing Survey found that landlords increased rents by 8% in 2014.

Labour pledged to slow rent rises in the general election campaign. The party would have legislated to avoid landlords increasing rents by more than inflation levels for the whole contract length. Tenancies would also have a three-year standard term.

1 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labours-new-shadow-chancellor-is-against-rent-control-and-guess-what-hes-a-landlord-10288889.html

Green Belt Could be Released in Woking

Published On: June 3, 2015 at 9:01 am

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Possible green belt and urban sites for housing, employment and infrastructure development in Woking are set to be discussed by the Council and residents.

The Draft Site Allocations Development Plan Document (DPD), which outlines potential sites in the green belt, is set for debate on Thursday 4th June.

Woking Borough councillor John Kingsbury, leader of Woking Borough Council, says: “The Site Allocation DPD is an important stepping stone towards identifying future development sites within the borough until 2027.”

The Council says that it is committed to preparing the document to deliver its Core Strategy, which was implemented in October 2012.

The document details plans to deliver 4,964 new homes, 93,900 square metres of retail floor space, 28,000 square metres of office floor space and 20,000 square metres of warehouse floor space.

Kingsbury explains: “It is a formal legal process that the Council is committed to delivering as part of its adopted Woking Core Strategy. Otherwise, we run the risk of failing to identify enough land to meet our future requirements.

“The Site Allocations Document will potentially identify both urban and green belt sites for future development. We are, however, acutely aware of local concerns about the green belt as a much cherished part of our natural environment which brings pleasure and enjoyment to many.”

Kingsbury says that any decision the Council makes will “ensure that the purpose and integrity of the green belt is not undermined.”

Green Belt Could be Released in Woking

Green Belt Could be Released in Woking

He adds: “Any land to be removed from the green belt for housing is unlikely to be released for development before 2022.”1

Some of the sites recommended for development are around Parvis Road in West Byfleet, which have been assigned as residential development land. Work is expected between 2022 and 2027.

Land near Egley Road in Mayford, Coblands Nursery, Lyndhurst and Five Acres in Brookwood has also been reserved.

Currently, 63.27% of Woking is green belt. If the plans are accepted, this would drop to 61.08%.

A further eight sites in the borough, including parts of West Byfleet, Byfleet, Pyrford, Old Woking, St John’s Lye and Horsell Common, have been recommended for release from the green belt to enable a “defensible boundary” to be drawn. However, development is not planned on this land.

Residents have previously opposed plans to release green belt land due to flooding risks and beliefs that building on the land would “encroach” on the extensive and “important” countryside between Guildford and Woking1.

However, councillor Graham Cundy, the portfolio holder for planning policy, says the Council has taken “sufficient care” to compile a “body of evidence” to ensure any green belt sites identified for development will not harm the general environment of the borough.

He continues: “We are committed and determined to give all residents and businesses the opportunity to comment on the Site Allocations DPD proposals.

“A proactive consultation plan is currently being prepared that will provide an opportunity to residents and businesses to discuss with council officers any concerns they may have around the site allocations process.

“I would therefore encourage residents and businesses to engage with us during this process and have their say on the future development of our borough.”1

If the executive committee approves the plan, a formal six-week consultation will begin on 18th June, in which residents will be able to submit comments and suggestions.

After this, all responses received will be considered, before a submission version of the DPD is published for further negotiation.

An independent inspector will then study the Site Allocation DPD, before it is implemented by the Council.

1 http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/green-belt-could-reduced-woking-9372482