Housing – Parliamentary Written Answer

Mr Raynsford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many units qualifying for the New Homes Bonus were student accommodation in 2010-11; and what the estimated cost is over the full six-year period of the New Homes Bonus paid for such accommodation.

Grant Shapps: New homes bonus is paid in respect of net additions to housing stock, and is calculated according to the council tax banding of new supply. The particular proposed uses for new supply are not collected, and it is not therefore possible to provide a precise figure for the number of units qualifying for new homes bonus which were student accommodation, or the associated costs.  As a guide to increasing levels of student accommodation, the number of dwellings qualifying for an exemption from council tax on the grounds of being a hall of residence provided predominantly for the accommodation of students increased by some 4,600 between September 2010 and September 2011 (DCLG Statistical Release—Local Authority Council Taxbase 2011, published November 2011). Increases in dedicated student accommodation will have a beneficial effect on the wider housing supply, by taking pressure off private rented accommodation.