CLG Urged To Shape Up Over New Homes

A government that spends around £21bn each year on housing benefit does not know what contribution this money makes to the supply of new housing. Now, a key Commons committee has put the CLG on notice, wanting a report back within a year on identifying metrics that can be used to establish the full impact of housing benefit on building new homes and scope for this financing to be used more innovatively to increase housing supply and home ownership. The Public Accounts Committee says it specifically wants to see research into the estimated £8bn in housing benefit a year spent on subsidising rents paid by tenants in the private rented sector.  Read more on 24housing.

Housing Associations Could Borrow £7.4 Billion

The Government drive for increased new housing supply is putting political and financial pressure on housing associations to increase their housing delivery, a challenge the sector could be well positioned to respond to quickly by unlocking additional financial capacity, Savills says. New analysis by Savills suggests that up to £7.4 billion of additional borrowing could be secured against assets to be used to deliver more homes. Housing associations delivered 40,000 new homes in 2015/16, around a fifth of all new homes, with around 43 per cent outside the Affordable Housing Programme.  Savills calculates that this additional borrowing capacity is both supported by balance sheets and fundable from existing cashflow. Read more on the Savills website.

RTPI: Green Belt Should Be Considered For Housing

The green belt should be considered for new housing, the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) has said. In a policy statement, the RTPI said the government’s upcoming Housing White Paper needs a “fresh approach” to direct where new housing should be located. The statement said: “Green belt boundaries may well need to change, but only after a careful review over wider areas than single local authorities, where safeguards are put in place to ensure development is sustainable, affordable and delivered in a timely manner, and without prejudice to the renewal of brownfield land”. Download the policy statement from the RTPI website.

MPs Reject Move To Help First Time Buyers

MPs have rejected an attempt to restrict a proportion of newly built homes to first time buyers in the Housing and Planning Bill. The Labour amendment, which would have allowed councils to impose planning obligations requiring a proportion of new housing for sale to be marketed to first time buyers, was rejected by 277 to 72. Another Labour amendment, which would have required the 20% Starter Home discount to remain permanently, instead of people being able to sell the property for the full market value after five years, also fell – by 301 to 194. The Labour amendments were rejected in the House of Commons, as the Housing and Planning Bill was debated at report stage. Read more on Inside Housing.

5,000 'Rent To Buy' Homes Set To Be Built With £700m Funding

A housing company is looking for £700m of institutional investment to build 5,000 homes across England for tenants to buy without saving for a deposit. RentPlus, a new Plymouth-based firm, plans to build the swathe of new housing over five years across the south-west, Cambridgeshire and East Anglia. The homes will initially be let at sub-market rent, with tenants eventually able to purchase their properties. Under the model, housing associations lease the homes from RentPlus and offer a series of five-year renewable tenancies of up to 20 years, with tenants given the option to buy their home at the end of each five-year period. Read more on Inside Housing.

Department Of Health Invites Housing Bids for £55 Million Homeless Fund

Homeless people are to benefit from a new £55 million fund to upgrade existing accommodation and provide new housing. The fund will be used over the next two years - with £25 million available for accommodation outside London and £30 million in London. The money will be used for two types of projects:

• The Homeless Change project will provide upgraded hostel accommodation to improve physical and mental health outcomes for rough sleepers and to help reduce A&E attendances
• The Platform for Life project will create new low-rent shared accommodation for young people who want to work, but are struggling to hold down a job or attend college because of a lack of stable housing

Find more information on the HCA website.