Councils And ALMOs Call For Flexibility In £1bn Borrowing Cap

Council housing representative bodies are urging the government to set out flexible bidding criteria for the £1bn of additional borrowing headroom announced in the Autumn Statement. The Association of Retained Council Housing (ARCH), the National Federation of ALMOs (NFA) and the Local Government Association (LGA) are also calling on their members to prepare to bid for the debt. There are fears that too much red tape could cause the programme to be undersubscribed – as happened when the Treasury announced a similar policy in 2014 – damaging future opportunities of funding for council housebuilding. Read more on Inside Housing.

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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.

West Midlands 'Selected' As Right To Buy Pilot Region

The government is understood to have chosen the West Midlands as the area for its regional Right to Buy pilot. However, it is understood little detail was given in the early conversations about how the pilot would work in practice. The area had been strongly rumoured to be in line for the pilot since the Autumn Statement last year, when chancellor Philip Hammond announced a regional Right to Buy pilot. The government has budgeted £25m for the Right to Buy pilot in 2017/18, with £90m next year and £250m in total through to 2021, with more than 3,000 tenants expected to buy. Read more on Inside Housing.

Banning Letting Agent Fees Paid By Tenants

The government announced at the 2016 Autumn Statement that it would consult on introducing a ban on letting agent fees paid by tenants, to improve competition in the private rental market and give renters greater clarity and control over what they will pay. This consultation paper invites views and comments on how the ban on letting agent fees paid by tenants in England should be implemented and enforced. Find details of the consultation on the CLG website.

Most Landlords Will Keep Their Letting Agents Despite Ban On Tenant Fees

The majority of landlords using a letting agent won’t be put off if they see their own costs rise following a ban on tenant fees, a survey claims. According to the survey by the UK Association of Letting Agents (UKALA), 71% of landlords would continue to use a letting agent even if their premiums rise. What’s more, the research  shows that eight in ten landlords (79%) think their letting agent will increase their fees as a result of the proposal to ban charges to tenants, as announced in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement last year. However, just 9% of landlords say they will part ways with their agent if their premiums rise. Read more on Housing Excellence.

Affordable Housing: Finance – Parliamentary Written Answer

John Healey:  To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what funding has been earmarked for the (a) Affordable Homes Programme 2015-2018 and (b) Shared Ownership and Affordable Homes Programme 2016-21, broken down by budget heading.

Gavin Barwell: The 2015-18 Affordable Homes Programme, announced in September 2014 under the Coalition Government, included £2.9 billion grant funding and £400 million loan funding. At the Spending Review 2015, Government announced the new Shared Ownership and Affordable Homes Programme 2016-21, with £5.7 billion budget including £1 billion for existing commitments from the Affordable Homes Programme 2015-18, in addition to the funding already allocated. At Autumn Statement 2016, the Government announced an additional £1.4 billion investment to the Affordable Homes Programme 2016-21, increasing the overall budget to £7.1 billion.

80% Of Letting Agents Expect Rents To Rise In 2017

Eight in ten letting agents expect rents to rise in 2017 according to the latest Private Rental Sector (PRS) report from the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA). The report, which is the first since the Chancellor’s announcement to ban letting agent fees for tenants during his Autumn Statement, revealed that demand from prospective tenants fell again in November. The rental market continued to cool ahead of Christmas with 32 prospective tenants registered per letting agent branch, compared to 34 in October but 53% of agents expect to see a rise in demand next year. Read more on Housing Excellence.

Autumn Statement 2016 Briefing

On Wednesday 24 November Chancellor Phillip Hammond set out Government spending plans. This briefing provides an overview of the main housing-related measures, along with initial comment. Download this first-rate briefing from the Housingnet website.

HCA Chair Reveals Equal Split Of Funding For Tenures

The government’s £4.7bn Affordable Homes Programme could equally fund affordable housing, Rent to Buy and homeownership products, the chair of the HCA has revealed. Sir Edward Lister said the Affordable Homes Programme will be “very much a third, a third, a third arrangement” including homeownership, Rent to Buy and “an element of affordable”. Chancellor Philip Hammond revealed in the Autumn Statement that the rules around the Affordable Homes Programme will be relaxed to fund affordable rented and Rent to Buy homes. However, housing minister Gavin Barwell appeared to contradict this. He was asked what proportion of the programme would fund affordable rented and social rented housing. He responded: “What we have done with the Affordable Homes Programme is to give complete flexibility, so I can’t give a specific answer because it will depend on the bids housing associations make from the programme.” Read more on Inside Housing.

Industry Bodies Respond To Ban On Letting Fees

Commenting on the Autumn Statement, Richard Lambert, Chief Executive Officer at the National Landlords Association (NLA), said: “The new Chancellor is clearly aware of the pressures facing those living in the private-rented sector, but in attempting to improve affordability he has shown that, like his predecessor, he lacks an understanding of how the whole sector works. There’s no doubt that some unscrupulous agents have got away with excessive fees and double-charging landlords and tenants for far too long.  Banning letting agent fees will be welcomed by private tenants, at least in the short-term, because they won’t realise that it will boomerang back on them. Agents will have no other option than to shift the fees on to landlords.” Read more on the NLA website.

Housing Gets £4bn Boost To Increase Number Of New Homes

The chancellor committed almost £4bn to housing in his autumn statement, in a move he said represented a step-change in the government’s ambition to increase the supply of homes for sale and rent. The money, which the Treasury said was new cash, will be spent through two funds: one providing money for infrastructure projects to make sites viable for building, the other providing money for affordable homes. Measures to tackle the housing crisis included:

·         A £2.3bn housing infrastructure fund for local authorities to help deliver up to 100,000 homes

·         An extra £1.4bn for local authorities and housing associations to provide affordable housing to rent or buy

·         The roll-out of right-to-buy to 3,000 more housing association tenants

Read more on the Guardian website.

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.

Right To Buy Extension Delayed Until At Least 2018

The national roll-out of Right to Buy for housing association tenants will not take place until after April 2018 at the earliest, with the sell-off of high-value council homes also delayed. Gavin Barwell, housing minister, said he had written to councils to tell them the government will not be requesting any high-value asset payments during 2017/18. Councils had called for the policy to be delayed from its expected start date of April 2017. He also confirmed the regional pilot of Right to Buy announced in yesterday’s Autumn Statement will test one-for-one replacement and portability of discounts, unlike the current pilot.  Read more on Inside Housing.

CPRE Wary Of Some Policies Announced In The Autumn Statement.

The Chancellor has been warned of an “urban sprawl” particularly in the South East after he spoke of funding for new homes for “in-demand” areas. CPRE has also warned the funding could result in a failure to deliver national growth. Paul Miner, planning campaign manager at the CPRE, says: ““We hope the Government’s welcome new funding for affordable housing will provide a fair share for rural communities, where only 8% of the housing stock is affordable”. CPRE have also expressed their wishes for the new housing White Paper. Read more on the CPRE website.

Councils Won’t Pay HVA Levy In 2017/18

ARCH has learned that stock retained councils will not be required to make high-value asset (HVA) payments in 2017/18. This comes as news following the announcement of an expanded pilot for the voluntary Right to Buy for housing association tenants. In his Autumn Statement on 23 November, the Chancellor announced that following the initial pilot of the voluntary Right to Buy for tenants with five housing associations, the government will launch an expanded regional pilot in 2017-18. This pilot will be funded by the Exchequer to the tune of £250million over four years from 2017-18 to 2020-21. More information on the timing will follow once the detail has been developed with the housing association sector. Read more on the ARCH website.

Chancellor Urged To Build 80,000 Affordable Homes A Year

The Chancellor should invest in a scheme that could deliver 80,000 affordable homes a year for ‘just managing’ families in the Autumn Statement. As the UK prepares to leave the EU, JRF is also calling on the Chancellor to end the freeze on working-age benefits to help households cope with the rising cost of goods and services. The Government has said its priority will be supporting families on low incomes. JRF’s submission looks at four ways they could support that goal on November 23. A Housing White Paper is expected to be published at the same time. JRF recommends the Government invest £1.1 billion extra a year in affordable housing through a scheme called Living Rents, which links housing association and local authority rents to local wages, making them affordable to people earning the National Living Wage. Read more on the Joseph Rowntree Foundation website.

Tory ‘Buy As You Go’ Plan To Make Renters Homeowners

Families who are “just managing” will have the chance to buy their homes after 25 years of paying rent, under government plans being considered. A new type of tenure, to be called “buy as you go”, is expected to be announced as part of a major revamp of the housing market at the end of this month. Buyers will not need to have paid a deposit or require a mortgage but will build up equity in their homes over time. The policy is set to be unveiled during the chancellor’s autumn statement, with details to be published in a housing white paper shortly afterwards. Read more on the Observer website.

Right To Buy Extension Delayed By Brexit Vote

The Right to Buy extension to housing association tenants is set to be delayed due to the EU referendum result, according to the CLG official leading on the scheme. Guidelines for the voluntary Right to Buy programme now have no fixed publication deadline for coming out, as civil servants prioritise dealing with the uncertainty brought about by a new government and the Brexit vote. Officials had hoped to publish guidelines within the next six months. Further details of the government’s position on the subject will come out with the Autumn Statement on 23 November.  Read more on Inside Housing.

Poll Shows Britons Support Action On Infrastructure

Ahead of the Autumn Statement, Ipsos MORI launch a new global Infrastructure study that finds the majority of the public think that Britain is not currently doing enough to meet the country’s infrastructure needs.  Some 60% of Britons agree that we are not doing enough as a country to meet our infrastructure needs and 76% are of the view that investment in infrastructure is vital to future economic growth.

·         Majority of Britons think we are not doing enough to meet infrastructure needs and 44% would back Government borrowing to meet those needs

·         Of all G8 countries, new housing supply rated worst in Britain

·         New housing supply is among public’s top priorities in Britain, along with rail and flood defences

Read more on the Ipsos Mori website.

Cheap Loans To Encourage Developers

The Conservatives are poised to announce a £3 billion house building fund which will provide developers with cheap loans and funding in a bid to "get Britain building" after the EU referendum vote. Philip Hammond, the Chancellor, is expected to use his Autumn statement to unveil a housing fund which will be targeted at small and medium-sized developers. The fund will offer developers cheap loans or financial guarantees as the Government takes more financial risk than it has ever done before in a bid to get more homes built. A Whitehall source said that the fund will be designed to reduce red tape which led to the failure of previous schemes. Read more on the Daily Telegraph website.