Jenrick announces new measures to give housing association tenants a foot on the property ladder

Tenants in new housing association properties will be given the right to shared ownership of their home under new plans set out today by Housing Secretary, Robert Jenrick.

One of the biggest divides in our society is between those who can and cannot afford their own home.  The Conservative Party is determined to get Brexit done, so we can get on with levelling up opportunities across England and help more people to own their own home.

There are 2.6 million households, over 5.2 million people, in housing association homes, who currently have no direct support into home ownership. Of these households, 64% would like to buy their own home, but only 25% expect to be able to do so.

That is why we want to work with housing associations on a voluntary basis to determine what offer can be made to those in existing housing association properties. For those tenants in new stock, there will be an automatic right to buy a share of their home from as little as 10%, with the ability to increase that share over time, up to full ownership.

The Conservative Party is on their side and is proud to extend the dream of home ownership to housing association tenants.

Robert Jenrick, the Housing Secretary, said:

“This Government is determined to level up opportunities across the country, helping millions of people into home ownership.

“As Housing Secretary, I want to ensure that residents living in new housing association homes are given the opportunity of climbing onto the property ladder by giving them the right to shared ownership of their homes.

“This means that tenants in new stock will have an automatic right to buy a share of their home, as little as 10 per cent, and increase that share over time. I also look forward to working with housing associations on a voluntary basis to open this opportunity to those living in existing properties.

“As Conservatives we know that owning a home is not just about the four walls around you, it’s about investing in your family, saving for the future and putting down roots in a community. We are on the side of hard-working people who want the sense of security that comes with home ownership.”

ENDS

For further information, please contact Tom Kennedy on 07985 474257.

Notes to Editors

• We will establish a new national model for shared ownership which allows people in new housing association properties to buy a proportion of their home while paying a subsidised rent on the rest – helping thousands of lower earners step onto the housing ladder. People will be able to buy more of their home in 1% increments, rather than the 10% (or more) chunks currently required.[1]

• We want to work with housing associations on a voluntary basis to determine what offer can be made to the millions of tenants in existing housing association properties. For new housing association properties, this will be an automatic right for tenants. Future funding for the Affordable Homes Programme will be determined at a fiscal event.

• There are 2.6 million households, over 5.2 million people, in housing association homes who currently have no direct support into home ownership. Of these households, 64% would like to buy their own home, but only 25% expect to be able to do so.[2]

• We have made it easier for councils to borrow to build more homes. We have abolished the Housing Revenue Account borrowing cap, freeing up councils to deliver an estimated 10,000 new council homes a year. [3]

• We have backed schemes like Help to Buy which have made home ownership a reality for more than half a million families. More than 1.4 million people have used Help to Buy ISAs and more than 221,405 properties have been bought using the Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme.[4]

• We have cut stamp duty for 95% of first-time buyers – saving people up to £5,000 on the purchase of their home. Over 340,000 families have benefited from out First-Time Buyers’ Relief since it was introduced in 2017, saving over £804 million.[5]

• We have delivered over 430,000 affordable homes and 135,000 for social rent since 2010 so that our country has the homes it needs. We have delivered 1.3 million homes since 2010.[6]

• We have added 232,800 dwellings to the housing stock, the largest increase since records began in 2010. There was a net increase of 232,800 in the number of domestic properties with a council tax band in England between March 2018 and March 2019.[7]

• In contrast, Jeremy Corbyn does not believe in helping families to own their own home – he attacked the UK’s ‘national obsession’ with home ownership. He said: ‘In this country, there is a national obsession with home ownership that does not apply to any other country in Europe. Government policy, banking policy and everything else is directed towards home ownership’.[8]

• Under Labour there was a 420,000 drop in the stock of social housing between 1997 and 2010. We have turned this around with a rise of 79,000 in the stock of social housing since 2010 (MHCLG, Live tables on dwelling stock (including vacants), 24 May 2019, link).[9]
• We have delivered 15,000 local authority homes since 2010, up from only 2,920 built under Labour from 1997 to 2010.[10]

• NB: Stats in press release on people wanting home ownership are sourced from the ‘Public attitudes to house building, findings from the 2017 British Social Attitudes Survey’.