Government Publishes Landmark Housing And Planning Bill

The Government has published its landmark Housing and Planning Bill. Among the provisions in this wide-ranging bill is the statutory framework for the Government’s ‘Starter Homes’ scheme which includes a new legal duty to be placed on councils to guarantee the provision of 200,000 starter homes on all reasonably sized new development sites. These will be offered to first-time buyers at a 20 per cent discount on market price. Another key measure provides ministers with powers to intervene to ensure that all councils have local plans in place by 2017. In addition, the legislation introduces the requirement for local authorities to keep registers of brownfield land, an extension of the right-to-buy discount to some housing association tenants and a duty on local authorities to sell their most expensive vacant homes. Read more on the Planning Portal.