County Councils To Examine Ways To Get Involved In Housing Market

A project examining new ways in which county councils provide housing has been announced. County councils do not typically provide or build new housing, a function that is normally reserved for district level authorities. Nonetheless, in recent months some counties have begun taking up strategic development functions, with Surrey County Council establishing a joint venture with Places for People in December. The joint project between the County Councils Network (CCN) and the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) will explore what CCN member authorities are achieving with current powers. Read more on Inside Housing.

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Places For People To Launch £550m Build-To-Rent Fund

The asset management arm of one of the UK’s largest housing associations is preparing to launch a £550m fund for investing in build-to-rent. PfP Capital, set up a year ago by 60,000-home association Places for People, will aim to forward-fund developments around the country to deliver 3,000 homes. It will be seeded with three residential schemes worth around £150m, which will be funded through a special purpose vehicle. Read more on the Places for People website.

https://www.placesforpeople.co.uk/about-us/news/2018/pfp-capital-launches-550-million-build-to-rent-fund/

New £200m Firm To Build 'Downsizing' Dwellings For The Over-55s

Healthcare company Octopus and property development specialist Places for People have launched a new £200m retirement housing business which aims to build more than 2,700 homes in the next five years. The new company, called Liberty Retirement Living, will provide homes for people over 55 looking to downsize, and already has five retirement villages in the pipeline. The venture hopes to capitalise on the under-supply of purpose-built homes for older people, which currently makes up just 2pc of the UK’s housing stock, compared to 17pc of stock in the US. According to research from property consultancy Knight Frank, around 25pc of over-55s want to move into some sort of retirement housing in the future -  around 2.5 million households. Read more on the Telegraph website.

‘One-Stop Shop’ To Build PRS Homes

A UK institutional investor has joined with a construction giant and a property management company to build 2,000 private rented homes a year for local authorities. Legal & General Investment Management, Laing O’Rourke and Touchstone, the lettings management company owned by housing association Places for People have come together to set up a ‘one-stop shop’ for local authorities with land to develop. The companies have signed a memorandum of understanding and will offer councils at least £200m a year of investment into, and the development and management of, build-to-let homes. Under the model, which is described as a ‘strategic alliance’ rather than a formal joint venture, councils lease land to L&G which will then fund Laing O’Rourke to carry out the construction of the homes. Read more on Inside Housing.

Most Councillors Do Not See PRS as Top Priority

Only 2% of councillors in England see the private rented sector supply of housing as their top priority for new housing supply, a survey has revealed. The low priority for the PRS reflected major concerns councils have about regulating large numbers of small buy-to-let landlords; the poor quality of PRS homes; short leases and security of tenure; and rising rent levels. Conducted by the Smith Institute in partnership with Places for People, the survey - ‘The growth of the private rented sector: what do local authorities think?’ - found that councillors and officers are concerned with the quality of homes in the PRS – especially at the bottom end of the market. Download a copy of the report from the Smith Institute website.

Under-Occupancy Benefit Cuts to Hit Vulnerable Hardest

New research launched by the Housing Futures Network - comprising Affinity Sutton, Gentoo, Places for People and Riverside - has revealed the impact housing benefit changes would have on social housing tenants underoccupying their homes. The network interviewed 452 working-age households in receipt of benefit and living in social housing, which face cuts to their benefit payments from 2013 under Government proposals. In total 670,000 households could be impacted by the cut. The results from the survey showed:
*71% of the tenants surveyed stand to lose up to £15 per week, or up to 10% of their household income and nearly a third (29%) would lose more than £15 a week.
*Whilst a quarter of underoccupiers would try to downsize to a smaller property to escape the benefit cut, the majority do not believe this is an option for them. Over a third (35%) believed they would be likely to end up in rent arrears as a result of the cut.
*43% of underoccupiers are already struggling financially and 83% would find it difficult to find the extra money to pay their rent if their housing benefit were cut.
Download a copy of the report from the Affinity Sutton website.