Today the National Audit Office (NAO) reports that despite the
government announcing in 2015 that it intended to create 200,000
Starter Homes, no Starter Homes have been built to date as the
necessary legislation is not in place. Between 2015-16 and 2017-18,
the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government
(MHCLG) spent almost £174 million on acquiring and preparing
sites originally intended for building Starter Homes. These sites
are now being used for housing more generally, some of which is
affordable housing.
Starter Homes were intended to be houses built
exclusively for first-time buyers under the age of 40 and sold at
a 20% discount. The November 2015 Spending Review provided £2.3
billion to support the creation of 60,000 Starter
Homes.
The Housing and Planning Act (2016) set out the
legislative framework for Starter Homes. However, without
additional secondary legislation, even houses that conform to the
intended Starter Home specifications cannot be marketed as
Starter Homes. MHCLG expected to introduce the secondary
legislation and planning guidance required for Starter Homes in
2019 but it has not yet presented the regulations to Parliament.
It no longer has a budget dedicated to the delivery of Starter
Homes.
Read the NAO report for more information on the
status of Starter Homes policy and legislation and the impact of
MHCLG’s investment.
