Two All Party Groups of MPs and Peers have called on the
Government to act to turn empty buildings into good quality,
genuinely affordable homes to help end the housing and
homelessness crisis.
Publishing the report from their joint inquiry into repurposing
commercial properties to become residential, the All-Party
Parliamentary Groups (APPGs) for Housing Market and Delivery and
for Ending Homelessness found that there is significant potential
for housing supply to be increased this way, providing there are
safeguards in place to ensure that the homes delivered are of
high quality and genuinely affordable.
During their inquiry, MPs heard that from empty local authority
buildings alone there is the opportunity to create 20,000 more
homes in England. This does not include the potential for
conversions from the empty commercial properties owned by the
private sector. Overall, 14% of retail unit space and 7% of
office space is currently vacant.
The MPs reviewed evidence from housing and homelessness
organisations, local government, planning experts and developers.
There were three areas that witnesses agreed required further
government action for conversions to be successful and prevent
repeats of poor-quality development that have been seen in the
past.
The first was that standards need to be strengthened. Amongst
other recommendations, the groups are calling on the Government
to implement the ‘Healthy Homes Principles’ to ensure high
quality homes. These are a set of standards which would apply to
all new housing, including conversions, and include access to
amenities such as shops, schools, GPs, green spaces and
transport, fire safety, access to natural light, and ensuring
that homes are warm and well-ventilated to avoid damp and mould
issues.
Secondly, both APPGs are calling for all conversions to be
required to make contributions towards genuinely affordable
housing to help meet local need and tackle homelessness. The
Government has already signalled its intent to do this through
the Levelling Up Bill, but the MPs are calling for the measures
to be brought forward to deliver benefits in the immediate term.
Finally, the groups are calling for clearer guidance on ways in
which local authorities can have greater influence over the types
of conversions that take place in their area, to ensure that they
align with local housing and economic development plans.
, Chair of the APPG for Housing
Market and Delivery, said:
“We wanted to look at creative housing supply solutions that are
available in the short-term, and hope that the Government will
take forward our recommendations, which are both practical and
pragmatic. This includes publishing data on the number of
commercial properties that have been vacant for over two years
and requiring local authorities to report on vacant buildings in
their local areas. This would establish a clear picture of the
potential scale of empty commercial properties which could be
converted into affordable housing which is so desperately
needed.”
, Co-Chair of the APPG for Ending Homelessness,
said:
“The report comes against a backdrop of a severe shortage of
affordable housing, which is a core driver of homelessness. We
have heard from witnesses that there is significant scope to
repurpose empty buildings to help ease the housing crisis. Taken
together, the recommendations from this inquiry will ensure that
conversions are of high quality and contribute to creating places
people want to live, rather than making the housing and
homelessness crisis worse.”
, Co-Chair of the APPG
for Ending Homelessness, said:
“We heard that conversions are best done when they are
collaborative, particularly with the involvement of local
authorities, housing associations and other socially minded
organisations. To enable not for profit and community-led
organisations to make use of the potential to convert empty
commercial property into residential use, both APPGs would
support methods to incentivise high-quality and consortia
approaches.”
-Ends-
Notes
