Affordable Housing – Parliamentary Written Answer

Baroness Byford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will take steps to ensure that new houses designated as affordable cannot be altered or extended in ways which remove them from that classification.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: The Housing Act 1996 and the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 require that new affordable homes delivered through the provision of Government Grant must remain affordable in perpetuity. Where a grant funded property is sold or undergoes a change of use, for example, from affordable housing to private rent or sale, the grant element used to build the property is then recycled for the delivery of further new affordable homes or returned to the Government. This ensures that the number of properties available through our Affordable Housing Programmes remains at a consistent level.