HOUSING
“Proposals will be brought forward to [...] help
ensure more homes are built.”
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We have not built enough homes in this country for
generations. In order to fix the dysfunctional housing market,
we need to build more of the right homes, in the right places,
and ensure the housing market works for all parts of our
community.
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This will help to tackle the increasing lack of
affordability by bringing more properties onto the market. It
will slow the rise in housing costs relative to the rise in
wages, and help ordinary working people gain better access to
this most basic of necessities. It will help more ordinary
working families buy an affordable home and will bring the cost
Of renting down.
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In February we published a Housing White Paper, which
proposes end-to-end action across the whole housing system,
with measures to:
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release more land for homes where people want to
live;
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build the homes we need faster;
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get more people building homes;
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support people who need help now.
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We will deliver the reforms proposed in the White Paper
to increase transparency around the control of land, to “free
up more land for new homes in the right places, speed up
build-out by encouraging modern methods of construction and
diversify who builds homes in the country” (p.70).
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We will consult and look to take action to promote
transparency and fairness for leaseholders. We will look at the
sale of leasehold houses and onerous ground rents, working with
property developers, the Competition and Markets Authority and
others as outlined in the Housing White Paper.
Key facts
Getting more homes built
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In 2016, the median house price in England was nearly
eight times the median earnings - an ail time record
high.
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Home ownership among 25-34 year-olds in England has
fallen from 56% in 2005/06 to 38% in 2015/16, whereas the
percentage of 25-34 year-olds living in the private rented
sector increased from 24% to 46% over the same time
period.
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189,650 net additional homes were delivered in 2015/16 in
England, up 11% on 2014/15 and the highest level since 2007/08.
We need to sustain that momentum to meet the affordability
challenge. All credible sources agree we need between 225,000
and 275,000 new homes per year to tackle this problem.
Leasehold reform: ground rents and service charges
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The Department for Communities and Local Government
estimates there were 4 million residential leasehold dwellings
in England in the private sector in 2014/15 and that 1.2
million of these were leasehold houses.
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Land Registry figures show leasehold made up 43% of all
new-build registrations in England and Wales in 2015, compared
to 22% in 1996. In addition the percentage of residential sales
that were leasehold grew in every English region between 2011
and 2015.
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Direct Line for Business research in 2016 suggested that
the average annual ground rent was £371 for new builds and £327
for older properties.
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The Government will launch a consultation on leasehold in
due course. We will consider responses to the consultation and
work with stakeholders to promote transparency and fairness for
leaseholders.
