Ministers Urged To Create 250,000 New Homes For ‘Heroes’ Of The Pandemic

 The Government is being urged to create 250,000 new homes for key workers as a reward for their efforts during the pandemic. The Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) – a centre-right think tank – has called on ministers to set aside land for a new class of “homes for heroes”. The CPS said the majority of properties should be offered on a rent-to-buy or shared ownership basis, with the rest on long leases, with priority given to local key workers – both public and private sector. Read more on the Belfast Telegraph website.

https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/uk/ministers-urged-to-create-250000-new-homes-for-heroes-of-the-pandemic-40855783.html

Scrap Stamp Duty And Implement Annual Property Tax

A think tank wants the government to scrap stamp duty and replace it with an annual property tax based on capital value. Bright Blue says its tax commission - which it calls “cross party, cross sector” - recommends an annual proportionate property tax (APPT) on the current capital value of houses with a tax exemption for properties worth up to £50,000 and a 25 per cent surcharge for second home owners. Liability to pay would be with owners, not occupants. A single low tax threshold of initially £50,000 should be introduced, set to rise with house prices over time. Read more on Estate Agent Today.

Scrap Stamp Duty and implement annual property tax - ... (estateagenttoday.co.uk)

Cramped Housing Has Helped Fuel Spread Of Covid

Overcrowded housing has helped to spread Covid-19 in England and may have increased the number of deaths, according to research by the Health Foundation. People living in cramped conditions have been more exposed to the coronavirus and were less able to reduce their risk of infection because their homes were so small, the thinktank found. Overcrowding was a key reason why poorer people and those from ethnic minority backgrounds in particular had been disproportionately affected by the pandemic, it said. Read more on the Observer website.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/27/cramped-housing-has-helped-fuel-spread-of-covid-in-england-study 

Young Adult Carers' Housing Needs Still Overlooked

The housing needs of young adult carers are still being overlooked, according to a review by education and training think-tank the Learning & Work Institute. The institute warns that "unsustainable caring arrangements and breakdowns in family relationships" combined with a general shortage of housing options means some young adult carers are living in situations "which have a serious impact on their physical, emotional and mental health and wellbeing".  Despite this, "young adult carers do not appear to be recognised as a group requiring specific housing-related support," the policy review concludes. There is also no specific data on the extent of homelessness among the group. Read more on the Children & Young People Now website.

https://www.cypnow.co.uk/cyp/news/2007132/young-adult-carers-housing-needs-still-overlooked

Thinktank’s Affordable Housing Commission Issues Call For Evidence

The Smith Institute thinktank launched the Affordable Housing Commission (AHC) in October. The call for evidence comes after focus groups told the commission of their support for “radical” changes to the private rented sector. Housing organisations and individuals in the sector are being asked to give their views on how affordability issues could be addressed. The commission has identified four groups it wants to help through its final recommendations: struggling renters, frustrated homeowners, people reliant on state support and older people facing affordability problems with their homes. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/thinktanks-affordable-housing-commission-issues-call-for-evidence-60174?utm_source=Housing60&utm_medium=email&utm_content=article_link&utm_campaign=H60

Nearly A Million More Young Adults Now Live With Parents

Nearly a million more young adults are living with their parents than was the case two decades ago, a study has found. The figures, in a report by the cross-party thinktank Civitas, will fuel concerns that too little is being done to protect young people from Britain’s housing crisis. The proportion of people aged 20 to 34 who live with their parents has risen from 19.48% in 1997, equating to 2.4 million people, to 25.91% in 2017, equating to 3.4 million. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/feb/08/million-more-young-adults-live-parents-uk-housing

Fixed-Term Tenancies ‘Should Be Scrapped’, Says Thinktank

Fixed-term tenancies for private renters should be scrapped and replaced by mandatory open-ended agreements in order to end so-called “no-fault” evictions, a thinktank has said. The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) said the law should also be changed to stop landlords evicting tenants within the first three years of a tenancy because they want to sell their home. It made the calls in a report published today urging a major overhaul of the private rented sector. A poll conducted by Sky Data on behalf of the IPPR found that 72% of people believe the government should be doing more to regulate the private rented sector, while 53% feel the current system is unfair on tenants. Read more on the IPPR  website.

https://www.ippr.org/research/publications/sign-on-the-dotted-line

Local Government Thinktank Launches Homelessness Commission

A commission aimed at finding ways councils can reduce homelessness has been launched by the Local Government Information Unit (LGIU) thinktank and membership body. The Local Government Homelessness Commission (LGHC) will spend a year investigating how town halls can stop people becoming homeless. The commission intends to provide practical recommendations for ways councils can implement the new Homelessness Reduction Act, which came into force in April and places extra duties on local authorities to keep households in stable accommodation. Read more on the LGIU website.

https://www.lgiu.org.uk/news/46675/

Buy-To-Let Has Skewed Housing Market And Must Be Curbed

Private landlords have put home ownership beyond the reach of at least 2 million families, research shows, while Britain has built only half as many new homes as France over the same period. The radical report from the new Conservative thinktank Onward recommends ending or severely curtailing tax breaks for buy-to-let and private landlords, a stronger role for local councils and major reform of the planning system to allow communities rather than developers to lead the process. The report calls for government intervention in the housing market, including giving London councils the power to limit foreign ownership. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jun/25/home-ownership-out-of-reach-for-2-million-uk-families-says-thinktank

Stamp Duty Cut Could Cost First-Time Buyers Twice As Much As They Save

The stamp duty cut for first-time buyers could cost those purchasing a home more than twice as much as it saves them, a think tank has claimed.  The Resolution Foundation said the policy will inflate house prices by more than the saving it will deliver for many buyers. It added that the change will only marginally reduce the time it takes an average first-time buyer to save up to buy a property – from 19 years to 18.5 years. It also said the rise in house prices that the policy is likely to cause equates to a £3,200 increase in the cost of an average-price home – more than double the average £1,600 saving it will deliver. Read more on the Independent website.

Not Enough Being Done To Build Homes For Older People

Taxes on the development of new homes in the UK are scuppering retirement housing development, which has enormous social value and helps free up housing for young buyers and growing families, new research suggests. The analysis from think tank Demos says there is evidence of a looming crisis in the supply of housing for older people, as current policy favours developers building starter properties, rather than also supporting older people to downsize which would spark a positive chain reaction in the housing market. Demos found widespread support for policies to help them downsize, including stamp duty exemption, practical help with moving and opportunities to try before you buy. Read more on Property Wire.

Reverse Cuts Or Backing For Universal Credit May Collapse

Public confidence in universal credit will collapse without an urgent £3bn cash injection to reverse cuts that are set to leave millions of families worse off, an influential thinktank has warned.  The Resolution Foundation says a spree of Treasury-driven welfare cuts since 2015 has left universal credit unable to meet its original aims of strengthening work incentives and supporting the incomes of low-income families. It warns that the current fragile political consensus in support of universal credit risks breaking down unless ministers refinance the reform and fix multiple design and implementation problems. Download a copy of Universal Remedy: ensuring Universal Credit is fit for purpose from the Resolution Foundation website.

May Promises £10bn Help To Buy Boost

The government will find an extra £10bn for the Help to Buy scheme to let another 135,000 people get on the property ladder, Theresa May has said. The extra cash will help buyers get a mortgage with a deposit of as little as 5% to buy newly built homes. Mrs May gave no detail about the source of the funding and said plans would be outlined in the Budget on 22 November. But think tank the Adam Smith Institute criticised the revival of the scheme, saying it would push up house prices. Read more on the BBC.

Government Buying Into Affordable Homes

The Government has bought into affordable housing to win over young voters. Chancellor Philip Hammond asked a private meeting of Tory backbench 1922 committee for ideas to bridge the widening  gap between voting generations. Housing emerging as an obvious issue upon which ground could be gained where young voters were concerned as to their prospects. The government was reinforced by a visit from Lord Willetts, a former Tory cabinet minister who chairs the Resolution Foundation – a think-tank focused on improving living standards – to Downing Street and meeting with head of policy James Marshall. Read more on 24housing.

How To Solve The UK's Housing Crisis

The government should let councils buy land, grant it planning permission and then sell it off to help solve the UK's housing crisis, according to a report by think tank Adam Smith Institute (ASI). The president of the think tank and the report’s author Madsen Pirie said that devolving power to local councils could help yield £30bn to pay for public services. One of the estimates the study cited showed that an acre of land was worth £2,500 without planning permission and £4m with it. "By granting permission to land they own, councils can capture the monetary benefits for themselves and their residents," the ASI said. Read more on the City AM website.

Decline In Living Standards For Social Housing Tenants

A third of social housing tenants have seen their standard of living decline in recent years as above-inflation increases have hit food, fuel and transport, a report by the Human City Institute (HCI) has concluded. The thinktank surveyed 6,500 social housing tenants across England and nearly a third (31%) said their standard of living had worsened in the past two years. Meanwhile 49% said there had been no change and 20% reported improvement. Download the report from the HCI website.

UK Construction Skills Gap Could Be Helped With Temporary Visas Post-Brexit

A think tank has suggested temporary ‘brickie visas’ could help to deal with the UK construction skills gap in the wake of Brexit. This would grant EU nationals entry into the country after Brexit to fill jobs that would not otherwise qualify for a Tier 2-style work permit. The visa would be issued for a year, but could be extended up to a maximum of three. This would help businesses train local workers for unfulfilled roles. Migration Watch UK made the suggestion in a new report ‘EU Immigration, Post-Brexit – A Comprehensive Policy’. Read more on the pbctoday website.

Devolution Deals 'Short Change Cities On Housing', Claims Report

The new metro mayors are being “short changed” on housing, according to a report by left-leaning thinktank the Smith Institute.  Its report, launched today, found the six city regions which go to the polls to elect new mayors next month face escalating housing shortages, particularly for those on low incomes. The report estimates at least £2.2bn of grant funding is needed to provide social housing in the regions. Greater Manchester is short by £831m, the West Midlands by £945m, Liverpool City Region by £249m, and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough by £162m. The current housing allocations provide virtually no funding for low-cost housing in the city region. Read more on Inside Housing.

UK Urged To Relax Green Belt Restrictions To Tackle Housing Crisis

Britain should relax planning restrictions in green belt areas to help deal with its housing crisis, an international economic think tank has recommended. Shortage of housing was one of a number of factors identified by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) as holding back UK growth, alongside poor skills and a lack of investment in infrastructure and research. Among its other recommendations were more toll roads, an expansion in vocational education and lifelong learning and better provision of social housing. Read more on the Belfast Telegraph website.

Official Figures Overstate UK Home Ownership

Barely half of all families in Britain own their own home, research highlighting the extent of the rise of generation rent shows. A study by the Resolution Foundation thinktank has shown that official figures have exaggerated home ownership, which has been in steady decline since 2002. The ONS said the UK owner occupation rate rose sharply in the two decades after Margaret Thatcher’s government allowed council tenants the right to buy their homes at a discounted price. But since the early 2000s, high house prices, weak growth in real incomes and tighter lending policies have combined to make home ownership harder despite a prolonged period of ultra-low interest rates and government subsidies for first-time buyers. Read more on the Resolution Foundation website.