England Has Five Million Fewer Council Houses Today Than In 1979.

·         In 2020, the latest published figures, England has just 1.6m council houses and FIVE MILLION FEWER than in 1979. Just 1 in every 17 of England’s 24.6m houses is a council house when it was 1 in 3 in 1979.

·         1979 saw England have 0.35m housing association properties making a social rented sector total of 6.91m. By 2020 England had 2.5m HA properties making a SRS total of 4.08m.

·         1979 was the high point of council housing with a record 6.6 million which was 32% of 20,826 houses in all of England and 1 in 3 of all houses in England was a council house.

Read more on the Housing Writes blog.

https://housingwrites.wordpress.com/2021/05/27/5m-fewer-council-houses-in-england-than-in-1979-and-other-housing-miscellany/ 

Half Of The Council Homes With Hazards Are In One London Borough

Government statistics on the condition of council housing stock released last week showed that there were 8,107 homes with ‘category one’ hazards across the country at the end of 2018/19. Of these, 4,340 (54%) were owned by Lewisham Council. The local authority said that its figures were so high because it counted all homes with a non-compliant fire door or “inadequate fire compartmentation” as a category one hazard, unlike other councils. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/half-of-the-council-homes-with-hazards-are-in-one-london-borough-64892

Council Home Drop Under Tory Government Slammed As ‘Disgraceful’

10 years of the Tories has meant a “disgraceful decline” in the number of council homes, according to Labour’s shadow housing secretary, John Healey. According to latest government figures, the number of homes rented from councils has dropped from 1,786,000 in 2010 to 1,592,000 by the end of 2018 – a fall of 194,000 – a number equivalent to all the homes in Bristol. The figure is likely to be attributed in part to changes made under the Coalition Government, which drastically cut funding for council housing and diverted investment into “affordable housing”. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/council-home-drop-under-tory-government-slammed-as-disgraceful/

Jenrick And Mcvey Clash Over Use Of Government Grant

A new report has claimed that there is tension between housing secretary Robert Jenrick and housing minister Esther McVey over the use of government grant. The row, which has been penned as a ‘class war’, emphasises Jenrick’s focus on first-time buyers, while McVey – described as “blue collar”– wants to spend the cash on council housing, particularly for new Conservative voters who switched from Labour in the last election. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/jenrick-and-mcvey-clash-over-use-of-government-grant/

Councils Still Face Numerous Barriers To Building Homes

Councils still face a number of obstacles to building more homes despite hopes that lifting the HRA cap would result in a development spree, new research has found. When the borrowing caps that restricted council house-building were lifted a year ago, the government said it heralded “a new generation of council homes,” but a new report by the Chartered Institute of Housing, National Federation of ALMOs and the Association of Retained Council Housing show councils still face obstacles to building more homes. Download the report from the CIH website.

http://www.cih.org/resources/PDF/Policy%20free%20download%20pdfs/LA%20New%20Build%20Report%20Jan20.pdf

Right To Buy Sales Fall To Lowest Level In Six Years

Councils sold 11,059 properties under Right to Buy in the year to March 2019, according to Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) figures. This is the lowest level since 2012/13, when 5,944 sales were registered. Sales under the policy hit a low during the financial crisis, but picked up in 2012 after the government changed purchase incentives, including increasing the cap on the Right to Buy discount to £75,000. However, sales have never reached anywhere near their early and mid-1980 heights. Read more on the MHCLG website.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/850399/Social_Housing_Sales_Statistics_2018-19.pdf

Could The Return Of Council Homes Help Solve Affordable Housing Crisis?

Councils are returning to house-building for the first time in decades to address the affordable accommodation shortage that big developers have failed to resolve. Government figures show that none of the local authorities in Suffolk and north Essex - other than Ipswich - had delivered any council housing since 2014 when records were first collated. Most new homes in the region - around 85% - have been delivered by commercial developers, with the remainder built by housing associations. But despite a more than 50% increase in the rate of house building since 2014/15 - the region remains far behind government set targets. Read more on the East Anglian Daily Times website.

https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/suffolk-and-essex-council-home-revival-1-6392407

Council More Than Doubles Building Plans As Result Of New Financial Freedoms

Sheffield City Council has doubled the number of council homes it is planning to build, following the government’s decision to remove the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) borrowing cap on local authorities. The council announced it is planning to up its delivery of homes by more than 100% over the next seven years from 1,500 homes to 3,200 homes. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/large-city-council-more-than-doubles-building-plans-as-result-of-new-financial-freedoms-62327

Council To Buy Back More Than 300 Council Houses

Nottingham City Council has announced plans to buy back more than 300 council houses to tackle the growing demand for social housing in the city. The four-year scheme will involve more than 300 purchases and also include newly-built homes, as well as houses and flats that have previously been bought through the Right To Buy scheme. This scheme will be used to help lighten the load on Nottingham's growing social housing waiting list and homelessness problems. The purchases will be paid for using Right To Buy replacement receipts and council borrowing. Read more on the Nottingham Post website.

https://www.nottinghampost.com/news/nottingham-news/nottingham-city-council-buy-back-3063534

Council Housebuilding ‘At Its Highest Level Since 1990’

Council housebuilding is at its highest level since 1990, with at least 9,000 homes directly created by councils in England over in 2017-2018, a report finds. Released by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI), the report is based on figures supplied by 83 English councils to an online survey showing that, of these homes, 42% are affordable and 23% are social. Projecting the figure across the whole of England, the research estimates that over 13,000 new homes were delivered by English local authorities last year – the highest since 1990. MHCLG figures suggest that the previous high for local authority housebuilding was 14,020 homes in 1990. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/council-housebuilding-at-its-highest-level-since-1990/

How Nottingham Labour Is Tackling The Housing Crisis

In May 2015, Nottingham Labour stood for election on five key pledges, one of which was a commitment to build 2,500 new homes that Nottingham people could afford to rent or buy. Four years later we have managed to build 2,293 new affordable homes and we have 534 more in the planning stages. Achieving this meant that Nottingham City Council embarked on the biggest new council house building program in a generation: over the last four years, we’ve built 523 new council homes. The political focus we placed on meeting this target means we have created award winning quality developments in partnership with our ALMO, Nottingham City Homes and they are now one of the top social housing builders in the UK. Read more of this article by Cllr Linda Woodings on the Labourlist website.

https://labourlist.org/2019/04/how-nottingham-labour-is-tackling-the-housing-crisis-and-wants-to-do-more/

Potential For £320bn Windfall From New Generation Of Social Housing

Councils could generate £320bn for the country’s economy over the next 50 years if they were able to build a “new generation” of high-quality council housing, the LGA says. Analysis examining four different future economic scenarios demonstrates how new social housing will deliver huge gains to tax payers. Even the worst-case scenario referenced by the LGA still results in a £10bn return. LGA chair Lord Porter said the findings offered the Chancellor the chance to go beyond lifting the borrowing cap and deliver “once-in-a-lifetime change” to benefit thousands across the country. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/potential-for-320bn-windfall-from-new-generation-of-social-housing/

May’s Housing Cash Pledge Is Not Enough

Councils have warned that a £2bn funding pot finally made available to them will not be enough to deliver the new generation of council homes promised by Theresa May. Their message comes as the first ever social housing green paper by a Conservative government is expected to be published this week. Local Government Association chair, Lord Porter, the Conservative leader of South Holland District Council, Lincolnshire, said he would not be able to build enough council homes to meet local demand because the government was only offering 166 councils extra borrowing capacity and additional funding for social housing. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jul/21/may-2bn-council-housing-pledge-not-enough-council-leaders-warn

Over 2 Million Fewer Council Homes

The latest local authority housing statistics illustrate the continuing decline in the numbers of council housing, revealing that councils in England owned 1.6 million dwellings on 1 April 2017 - a decrease from the 3.67 million homes owned on 1 April 1994 due to Right to Buy sales, large scale voluntary transfers and demolitions. The council housing stock in England fell from 1,612,319 on 1 April 2016 to 1,601,565 on 1 April 2017. 99.2% of the council owned stock is let at social rents with 0.8% let at affordable rents (up to 80% of market rent).  Read more on the ARCH website.

http://www.arch-housing.org.uk/news/latest-news/over-2-million-fewer-council-homes.aspx

Progress On Council Housing But ‘More To Be Done’

The government is standing by statistics that pitch progress on council housing – but maintains there’s more to be done. On paper, the stats show more people have got onto the housing ladder, waiting lists for councils houses have reduced and the amount of council housing not meeting minimum standards has decreased. The stats show;

·         A decrease of 0.7% on local authority housing in 2016/17 with 13,416 people having bought homes as a result of Right to Buy.

·         20,000 fewer people are now on Local Authority waiting lists, a decrease of 2% since 1 April 2016.

·         Over 95% of all Local Authority stock meets the decent homes standard. This is up from 84% in 2010.

Read more on 24housing.

http://www.24housing.co.uk/news/progress-on-council-housing-but-more-to-be-done/

May Unveils Plan To Build New Council Houses

Theresa May has announced an overhaul in council homes by promising measures to encourage the building of new social housing to help thousands of families. The Prime Minister has said the Tories will "support the most ambitious councils" and housing associations to overturn the decline in social housing if she is re-elected next month.  In the last twenty years, the decline in local authority housebuilding has left England with a dwindling social housing stock as demand for housing has risen. There are currently 300,000 fewer homes for social rent than 20 years ago and around 1.2 million families on local authority waiting lists for a social tenancy. Read more on the Daily Telegraph website.

Council Housing – Parliamentary Written Answer

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the reduction in council housing rents on (1) the maintenance and improvement of the existing council housing stock, and (2) the building of new council houses between now and 2022.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: I refer the noble Lord to my previous answer to him on 27 March - PQ HL6120. As stated in the Housing White Paper, the Government will in due course set out a rent policy for social landlords for the period beyond 2020 to help them to borrow against future income. Our aim is to ensure that they have the confidence they need about their future income in order to plan ahead.

Universal Credit: Rollout Speeds Up But Leaves Problems In Its Wake

A parliamentary committee has re-launched an inquiry into Universal Credit after receiving evidence of the problems encountered by tenants from councils. Here are two of the problems that need addressing urgently:

1.Rising arrears are putting landlords off - The main council housing bodies say 85% of tenants they surveyed on UC are in arrears compared to 39% of tenants overall.

2.UC does not work for all types of housing - Some problems are due to design – such as the waiting days rule, where households have to wait seven days before they are eligible for benefits. Some are unintended, such as the delays and administrative errors in issuing direct payments to landlords for tenants who struggle to pay their rent. Other issues are due to UC being inherently problematic for accommodation for homeless families. UC is not designed for temporary accommodation, but the DWP has insisted that homeless families should still claim housing support through UC. Read more on the Shelter blog.

Council-Owned Homes Drop By 10% In Six Years

The number of council-owned homes has dropped by more than 10% in six years, with a 1.9% decrease since last year. The latest figures from the CLG reveal there were 1.61 million council-owned homes in England and Wales in 2015/16, compared with 1.64 million last year. This is a steep drop from 2009/10, when there were 1.8 million council-owned homes, and this number has been decreasing ever since. The government said this was largely due to Right to Buy sales. There were 12,220 homes sold through Right to Buy last year. Read more on Inside Housing.

Council House Replacements

Roughly one in six council homes which are sold off under Right to Buy are replaced. But does this mean that there are fewer council houses available?  The number of council properties available for social rent in England has been falling in the last few years. In 2014/15, there were 1,635,000. That’s 28,000 less than in 2013/14 when there were 1,663,000 available. That's not the whole story. Councils nowadays own a much smaller proportion of the country's social rented housing stock compared to what they once did. Housing associations are the biggest provider of houses for social rent. So to understand the complete picture these need to be considered too. Read more on the Full Fact website.