Private Rented Housing – Parliamentary Written Answer

Dr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department is taking to encourage the delivery of more private-rented sector accommodation.

Kris Hopkins: This Government is committed to a bigger and better Private Rented Sector which is why, following the Montague review, we have put in place the £1 billion Build to Rent fund, the £10 billion Housing Guarantees schemes, and the Private Rented Sector Taskforce.

PRS 'Will Be Free' Of Affordable Homes Requirement

The head of a review of the private rented sector has said he expects his key recommendation that PRS homes should be freed from affordable housing planning requirements to be implemented.  Sir Adrian Montague said the government’s initial response to his review had been ‘hijacked’ by the need to address the faltering economy, but he believes more is to come. The key recommendation in Sir Adrian’s report was that section 106 requirements that demand affordable homes are built alongside private developments should be waived if developers agree to allow the homes to be let privately for a set period of time. This is designed to encourage institutional investors into the PRS market.  Read more on Inside Housing.

Prisk: Social Landlords Can Branch Out To Meet Demand for Private Rent

In his first speech as Housing Minister, Mark Prisk urged housing associations to turn their expertise in providing social homes to also building new homes for private rent.  He called on landlords to bid for a share of a £10billion Government Guarantee and "provide the spark to get Britain building", delivering homes built for new tenants - whether in social homes or for private rent. He said a review of the private rented sector by Sir Adrian Montague highlighted real potential for the development of homes built specifically for private rent, with funding for these new properties coming from institutional investors.  But speaking to the National Housing Federation in Birmingham, Mr Prisk argued that social landlords could also make the most of the potential that Sir Adrian's report identified. He argued that with years of experience and expertise in providing affordable homes to rent and buy, housing associations could both continue delivering services for social tenants and offer homes for private tenants.  Read more on the CLG website

Investors Seek Revised Affordable Home Definition

The property industry has responded to the Government backed Montague Review into investing in ‘build to rent’ homes by declaring modest tweaks to legislation could see ‘significant’ interest from institutions such as pension funds, insurance companies and REITs. Led by Sir Adrian Montague, the review is examining what barriers exist to greater institutional investment in the private rented sector, and how the supply of these properties can be increased in line with rapidly growing demand. 

A response submitted jointly by the British Property Federation (BPF), the Association of Real Estate Funds (AREF) and the Investment Property Forum (IPF) has called on Government to:

    *Explicitly encourage ‘build to rent’ to realise large scale projects that support the yields institutions seek;

    *Use S.106 agreements to treat ‘market rent’ dwellings as affordable housing through a covenant that all units on a development will be rented for a minimum period of 10 years from first occupation;

    *Add further impetus by advising local authorities as to the benefits that ‘market rented’ housing can provide in fulfilling their requirements in the NPPF to identify a supply of housing sites.

Read more on the BPF website.