OBR Says Autumn Statement Will Reduce HA Building By 13,000

Despite all of the welcomes from the housing association sector, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has delivered a big blow. They say: “The Autumn Statement includes a number of policies that are likely to affect housebuilding and residential investment. Dropping the requirement for housing associations to move to a shared-ownership model and abandoning plans to force higher rents on some tenants will both reduce the cash inflows available for housebuilding. Partly offsetting that, additional grant funding and other smaller measures will increase cash inflows and boost housebuilding. The net effect is to reduce cumulative housebuilding by housing associations by around 13,000 over the forecast period, with a boost next year becoming a drag by 2019-20.” Read more on 24housing.