Housing: Regeneration – Parliamentary Written Answer

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will create a fund for local authorities and housing associations to invest in the regeneration of existing housing stock.

Kit Malthouse: The Autumn Budget 2017 announced additional funding of £400 million recoverable loan finance for estate regeneration schemes. A fund of £290 million of recoverable loan has previously been made available. Also, in March 2017 we allocated £32 million of grant to 105 estates. The priorities for the programme are to:

• support the creation of additional, high-quality housing by enabling the densification of estates (where appropriate) through the better use of space and design;

• create better places to help tackle the social disadvantage and deprivation associated with many existing estates.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2019-01-04/205255

Government Sets Date To Lift Borrowing Cap

Councils’ Housing Revenue Account (HRA) borrowing caps will be scrapped in less than two weeks’ time, a government document has revealed. Communities secretary James Brokenshire has written to the chief executives of all stock-retaining local authorities presenting a draft plan for removing the cap. Measures outlined in the document will come into force on 30 October, the day after the Autumn Budget. HRA borrowing will be restricted by the Prudential Code only. Read more on the Newstart website.

https://newstartmag.co.uk/articles/government-sets-date-to-lift-borrowing-cap/

Hammond Urged Not To Launch "Tax Attack" On Second Home Owners

Philip Hammond has been warned against hiking levies on buy-to-let properties over fears the move would result in lower revenues for the Treasury. Two former Conservative cabinet ministers criticised reported plans for an increase in the government levy charged on buy-to-let purchases, which are said to be under consideration for the autumn Budget. John Redwood, the former trade secretary said: “There is no need to increase taxes and if you carry on increasing them you'll collect less money from people, which is the opposite of what we want to achieve.” “The answer for the Treasury is cut stamp duty and you’ll raise more money.” Read more on the Daily Telegraph website.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/08/04/hammond-urged-not-launch-tax-attack-second-home-owners-new-buy/

Housing Minister Open To Considering Changes To Borrowing Cap Policy

The housing minister has said he is open to considering changes to the government’s policy of lifting the borrowing cap only for certain councils. When asked by Liz Twist, a Labour MP on the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee, whether the government has considered raising the cap for all councils, Dominic Raab said he does not have a “closed view” on the policy. In the Autumn Budget last November the government announced £1bn of extra borrowing capacity for those councils where housing demand is highest. But critics have said £1bn is not enough to build the number of council homes required. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:atnapH4AulsJ:https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/housing-minister-open-to-considering-changes-to-borrowing-cap-policy-55226+&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk&safe=vss

Abolish Borrowing Cap So Local Authorities Can Increase Housing Supply

In Autumn Budget 2017, the Government raised the borrowing cap for councils in areas of high affordability by £1 billion to help achieve its target of 300,000 new homes per year. Private housebuilders have consistently provided 150,000 units per year, so the target is unlikely to be met without a significant increase in supply by local authorities. To achieve this, the Housing Revenue Account borrowing cap should be removed. At the very least, the Treasury should define the allocation criteria for the additional £1 billion more clearly. Read more on the Parliament website.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/treasury-committee/news-parliament-2017/budget-autumn-2017-report-published-17-19/

Government Has No Plans For Stamp Duty Holiday To Encourage Downsizing

Before the Autumn Budget there were calls for older people in Britain wanting to downsize to be given a stamp duty holiday to encourage them to do so and free up houses for families. But the Government has now made it clear that it does not back such a move and has no intention of introducing any such tax break. In written evidence to Parliament’s communities and local government committee on the subject of housing for older people, the Treasury says that providing a tax break for those looking to downsize benefits an already wealthy group of people. Read more on Property Wire.

Delayed Right To Buy Pilot For Housing Association Tenants To Go Ahead

A question mark has hung over the pilot that was first announced at the Autumn Statement last year after it was not introduced as expected in April. However, Autumn Budget documents reveal that funding has been set aside for the pilot - with £85m of additional spend planned in 2019/20. The total cost will be £200m. The Budget states: “The Budget confirms that government will proceed with a £200m large-scale regional pilot of the Right to Buy for housing association tenants in the Midlands”. There was no further mention of the sale of high-value council homes in the Budget documents, which is supposed to fund the wider roll out of the scheme. Read more on Inside Housing.

Autumn Budget Update - Housing

·         100% council tax premium on empty properties.

·         Stamp duty abolished for first-time buyers for homes worth up to £300,000

·         £28m in three new housing pilot schemes – in the West Midlands, Manchester and Liverpool – to halve rough-sleeping by 2022 and eliminate it by 2027.

·         £44bn of capital funding to help build 300,000 homes annually by mid-2020s.

·         New money for home builders fund.

·         £630m ‘small sites fund’.

·         £8bn of financial guarantees to support private housebuilding.

·         £2.7bn housing infrastructure fund.

·         £1.1bn for new urban regeneration.

·         £34m to train construction workers.

·         A review to be chaired by Oliver Letwin to look at ways to speed up planning permission.

·         Five new garden towns.

·         One million new homes on the Cambridge-Milton Keynes-Oxford corridor by 2050.

Read more on the Guardian website.

Councils Urge Government To Act On Right To Buy Receipts

Calling on the government to change the rules on Right to Buy in this month’s Autumn Budget, the LGA warned that councils are currently able to replace only a third of homes sold under the Right to Buy. The scheme, it said, could “grind to a halt” if the government does not change rules preventing councils from keeping more than a third of the proceeds received from council tenants buying their homes. According to the LGA, 12,826 homes were sold off under the scheme in 2016/17, and councils only started 4,475 in replacement. Read more on the LGA website.

Could Landlords Be Offered Tax Relief For Offering Longer-Term Tenancies?

Landlords are set to benefit from new incentives if they offer longer agreements to their tenants.  Perks could include clawing back tax relief that is currently being withdrawn from thousands of landlords, a leading property expert has suggested. The government wants to offer greater support to those who rent, as the number of people who do not own their own home continues to grow. Policies introduced could benefit landlords who comply.  Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Sajid Javid indicated in his Conservative party conference speech that details will be revealed in the Autumn Budget on November 22.  Read more on the Daily Mail website.

Council Rents After 2020

The government has promised further discussions with the housing sector before setting out a new rent policy for the period beyond 2020 "in due course". The policy will help raise borrowing against future income. The recent Housing White Paper confirmed the government will continue with its policy of reducing council and housing association rents by 1% a year for the next three years but promises an announcement "in due course" on a rent policy for social housing landlords (both housing associations and local authorities) for the period beyond 2020. The earliest likely date for an announcement on a new social rent policy is this year's autumn Budget. Read more on the ARCH website.