OBR Says Autumn Statement Will Reduce HA Building By 13,000

Despite all of the welcomes from the housing association sector, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has delivered a big blow. They say: “The Autumn Statement includes a number of policies that are likely to affect housebuilding and residential investment. Dropping the requirement for housing associations to move to a shared-ownership model and abandoning plans to force higher rents on some tenants will both reduce the cash inflows available for housebuilding. Partly offsetting that, additional grant funding and other smaller measures will increase cash inflows and boost housebuilding. The net effect is to reduce cumulative housebuilding by housing associations by around 13,000 over the forecast period, with a boost next year becoming a drag by 2019-20.” Read more on 24housing.

Social Housing: Tenants Will Need Four Years To Be Eligible

New tenants trying to get council and other social housing are to be required to live in the local area for four years instead of the current two. The white paper, The Best of Both Worlds – Our Special Status in a Reformed EU, makes clear that the change in the “residency test” will not just apply to new migrants but also anyone moving within Britain. The Foreign Office paper says that existing official guidance to local authorities in England already makes clear they should require a potential tenant to live in the area for at least two years before they are considered for social housing. Download the paper from the GovUK website.

Developers Told: 35% Of New Housing Must Be Affordable

Developers of all major sites in a South London borough have been told they must deliver 35 per cent affordable housing or publish a viability assessment showing why they cannot. Southwark council said it wanted developers’ plans to be transparent and made open to public scrutiny. The new requirement will be incorporated into the council’s forthcoming supplementary planning document (SPD). Southwark’s draft plan states that a full viability appraisal will be required for all proposed developments which do not meet Southwark’s affordable housing policy requirements. Read more on the South London Press website.

Affordable Homes Policy Is "Absolutely Stupid" Councillor Says

A councillor has branded planning policy as “absolutely stupid” after another huge homes firm wriggled out of social housing demands. Barratt and David Wilson Homes tried to reduce the number of affordable houses they are required to provide on a new housing development off Grange Road in Golcar from 16 to just two. But after negotiation it was agreed 11 of the 96 homes will be “affordable” – houses that are offered to social tenants or those eligible for subsidised homes. At a previous meeting about the plan in August, Cllr Graham Turner described the move “an absolute joke.” But over two months on the major housing firm has succeeded in slashing the affordable requirement. Read more on the Huddersfield Daily Examiner website.