Housing Goals
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Labour has pledged to build 1.5 million new homes during this parliament – lower than the housing target of the Conservatives (1.6 million) and the Liberal Democrats (1.9 million), but Labour said the figure would be enforced because local authorities have mandatory housing targets.
Combined authorities (groups of local authorities) will be given new planning powers, with more freedom and flexibility to use grant funding more effectively.
“This gives us hope that we’ll see an increase in new home construction,” said Collin Brown, director of planning and development at Carter Jonas.
Section 21 and the Tenant Reform Bill
Labour’s manifesto promises to repeal Section 21 “immediately”. The party said it would take measures to prevent private renters from being exploited and discriminated against, give them the power to challenge unfair rent increases and raise standards. This includes extending “avoidance laws” to the private sector, which means landlords must launch investigations into known or reported hazards within 14 calendar days.
Mark Bailey, group partner at Landwood, said: “Labour’s pledge to repeal Section 21 ‘immediately’ is intended to benefit tenants but fails to recognise the significant challenges faced by landlords. Nevertheless, removing landlords’ right to obtain possession if necessary is likely to see private landlords withdraw from the market and reduce the number of private homes available to rent.”
Social housing
The party has promised to launch the biggest increase in social housing construction “in a generation”.
Labour leaders have cited former prime minister Clement Attlee, who helped build Britain’s housing stock and established the National Health Service after World War II, as a key inspiration for their policies.
Sam Mitchell, chief executive of Purplebricks, said: “Only by addressing this issue, which has been festering since the mass sales of council homes in the 1980s, can we truly reopen the door to home ownership in the UK, which could significantly relieve pressure on the private rented sector.”
New Town
As previously announced, Labour is seeking to create new towns, a policy comparable to that of the Labour government of 1945. These towns would be built alongside urban expansion and regeneration projects.
Collin Brown, head of planning and development at Carter Jonas, said: “We don’t disagree with this as part of a balanced overall development strategy, but given the long lead time required to deliver an entirely new community, it will be important not to put all our eggs in one basket.”
“Grey Belt”
Labour has differentiated itself from other parties by promising to build homes in what it calls the “grey belt”, the lowest quality areas of the green belt. The party’s manifesto states that it will “prioritize the release of low-quality ‘grey belt’ land and introduce the ‘golden rule’ to ensure development benefits local communities and nature”.
Ann Jennings, Lampro’s deputy director of landscape architecture for ecology and biodiversity, said: “Labour has recently introduced the term grey belt to refer to land designated within the green belt for development. There is a delicate balance between the understandable aim of meeting housing demand and continuing to open up green belt land for development regardless of colour coding. This is a thorny issue with many opinions and concerns, but Labour is committed to taking a more strategic approach, underpinned by the ‘golden rules’ announced in April.”
Local Government Resources
The party has promised to support local authorities by funding extra planning officers, to be funded by imposing an extra stamp duty on non-UK residents who already pay the 2% surcharge.
Colin Brown, head of planning and development at Carter Jonas, said: “There’s no doubt that the planning system has been hit hard by a lack of resources at local planning authorities. It remains to be seen how much extra funding will be available, but this is a positive statement.”
“First-time buyers”
Labour plans to favour first-time buyers by giving them first choice in new developments and end the “farce of entire developments being sold to international investors before the homes are built”.
It’s not entirely clear how the party will achieve that goal, but it has pledged to work with local authorities to prioritise first-time home buyers.
Katie Pender, managing director at Target, said: “First-time home buyers are facing the toughest circumstances for 70 years and Labour’s proposed manifesto will offer some hope to this demographic.”
Land Occupation
Labour will reform compulsory acquisition compensation rules to improve land accumulation, speed up the delivery of sites and deliver improved housing, infrastructure, amenities and transport.
The party said it would ensure landowners were paid fair compensation, rather than inflating prices based on the likelihood of planning permission.
John Stott, group managing director at Ardent, said: “Take away the right to receive market value for land is unfair and potentially counterproductive. Developers will be more cautious when putting land together if there is a risk of it being forcibly acquired at a price lower than what they paid for it, and landowners are more likely to resist compulsory acquisition. This compensation approach is reminiscent of the short period after World War Two when landowners were paid at agricultural value in the first wave of new towns. However, this approach did not last long as many considered it unfair. This paved the way for the introduction of the ‘market value’ approach which has been used for over the past 50 years.”
Housing Loan Guarantee Scheme
As previously reported, Labor wants to introduce a mortgage guarantee scheme to ensure that lending with a 5% down payment continues.
Danny Belton, head of lending at the Mortgage Advice Bureau, said: “Labour’s commitment to introduce a permanent mortgage guarantee scheme will be a welcome support for first-time home buyers.”