The definition of “affordable housing” must include homes
for social rent in forthcoming government changes to planning
policy to tackle the historic low numbers of social rented homes
across the country, the Local Government Association says
today.
The LGA warns that homes specifically for social rent are
at risk of being eliminated after a revision to the National
Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) dropped the reference to “social
rent” homes from the Government’s definition of affordable homes,
whilst including starter homes and other, less genuinely
affordable, forms of housing.
It comes amid an already “unprecedented shortage” in
affordable housing with the supply of homes for social rent,
which provides secure tenancies on low rents, at a historic low.
Just 2.48 per cent of homes built in 2016/17 were designated for
social rent – down from 3.59 per cent of all homes built the year
previously.
All forms of affordable housing – including affordable
homes for purchase through various initiatives - fell to 19 per
cent of new homes in 2016/17, the second-lowest figure ever
recorded. The previous low, 17.2 per cent, was recorded in
2015/16. Until then, that figure had never slipped below 20 per
cent since records began. Historically, about a third of all
homes built have been designated for various forms of affordable
housing.
The LGA is calling on the Government to drop proposed
amendments to the NPPF to ensure homes for social rent remain
part of planning policy and to supply a long-term strategy to
deliver genuinely affordable housing in the upcoming Social
Housing Green Paper.
The LGA, which represents 370 councils across England and
Wales, will be publishing a new report “Housing, Planning and
Homelessness” at its Annual Conference in Birmingham tomorrow
(Tuesday) to set out how the Government can use its forthcoming
Green Paper to empower councils to trigger the renaissance in
council housebuilding needed to fix our broken housing
market.
This includes a call for the Government to ensure all
councils can borrow to build to deliver new homes, keep 100 per
cent of receipts of homes sold under Right to Buy and adapt
discounts locally, and powers to ensure all developments
contribute to the provision of affordable housing.
Although the Government recently allowed some areas of the
country to access limited headroom for borrowing for new homes,
this won’t meet the full need for truly affordable homes across
the country, and the Government should go much further, much
faster.
Cllr , LGA Housing
spokesperson, said:
“Councils are determined to ensure their residents have
access to affordable housing. By removing social rent from the
definition of affordable housing, the Government has effectively
removed the tool to help that happen.
“It’s essential that homes of all types and tenure are
available so that local communities can deliver a balance of
housing to meet a mix of needs. Homes for social rent can,
alongside starter homes and new builds, play an important role in
a thriving housing market.
“The country needs to be building approximately 300,000
homes a year of all types and tenure to address our housing
shortage. It’s essential that the Government ensure social rent
is included in the definition of affordable housing in the
upcoming changes to planning policy, but more widely, the
imminent Social Housing Green Paper is a real opportunity to give
councils the tools they need to trigger the renaissance in
council housebuilding we desperately need.
“All councils should be able to borrow to build, not just a
select few, and the Government should take steps to allow this as
soon as possible. In addition, councils should be able to keep
100 per cent of the receipts of the homes that are sold and adapt
discounts locally to ensure a steady supply of genuinely
affordable homes in our area.
“Tackling our national housing shortage is rightly a
priority for the Government – it’s essential they put in place
measures that would help, rather than hinder this, at the local
level.”
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. Figures
based on the most recent MHCLG Housebuilding figures
