‘Generational step-change’ needed in council housebuilding

Every area in England should be handed a new local housing deal by 2025 which combines funding from multiple national housing programmes into a single pot to spark a ‘generational step-change’ in council housebuilding, the outgoing chairman of the Local Government Association has said.

James Jamieson, whose four-year term as LGA chairman ends this week, set out a six-point plan to deliver on council ambitions that could over time support the delivery of 100 more council homes in every local authority per year.

Over recent decades construction of new homes has failed to keep pace with population growth and social changes. At the same time, there are currently not enough affordable homes to meet current demand with more than 1.2m households on council waiting lists in England and over 100,000 households living in temporary accommodation.

This housing shortage has seen rents and property prices rise significantly faster than incomes, acutely impacting the lowest income and vulnerable families and individuals.

Recent government measures to lift the housing borrowing cap, enable councils to receive preferential Public Works Loan Board borrowing rates and allow councils to keep all Right to Buy receipts for two years are positive steps in the right direction to boosting the supply of social housing.

The LGA called for the government to implement a six-point plan for social housing:

1. Roll-out five-year local housing deals to all areas of the country that want them by 2025 – combining funding from multiple national housing programmes into a single pot
2. Government support to set up a new national council housebuilding delivery taskforce
3. Continued access to preferential borrowing rates through the Public Works Loans Board (PWLB)
4. Further reform to Right to Buy which includes allowing councils to retain 100 percent of receipts on a permanent basis; flexibility to combine Right to Buy receipts with other government grants; the ability to set the size of discounts locally; and the ability to recycle a greater proportion of receipts into building replacement homes paying off housing debt
5. Review and increase where needed the grant levels per home through the Affordable Homes Programme, as inflationary pressures have caused the cost of building new homes to rise
6. Certainty on future rents, to enable councils to invest. Government must commit to a minimum ten-year rent deal for council landlords to allow a longer period of annual rent increases and long-term certainty

Cllr Jamieson said: ‘Housing is too often unavailable, unaffordable, and is not appropriate for everyone that needs it. The right homes in the right areas can have significant wider benefits for people and communities, and prevent future public service challenges and costs.

‘Addressing the chronic housing shortage must be a national priority. Our six-point plan would lead to a generational step-change in council housebuilding and give local government the powers and funding to deliver thousands of social homes a year– at scale, and fast.

‘A genuine renaissance in council housebuilding would unlock local government’s historic role as a major builder of affordable homes, which support strong and healthy communities and help to build prosperous places.’

Image: Belinda Fewings