Latest News | 21st November 2017

The Autumn budget: what’s at stake for the housing market?

All eyes are now on the upcoming Autumn Budget and housing is expected to be a hot political topic, but what’s at stake for the housing market? We have compiled together a wish list of housing policies which could potentially help combat the challenges the housing market faces.

What do you want to see included in the Autumn Budget?

  • Creating affordable homes, by allowing councils the freedom to borrow to build
  • Creating affordable homes for the young and making retirement housing more available
  • Simplifying the planning system: overcome challenges to achieve detailed planning consent for the land identified, which could be slowing down housebuilding
  • Creating a fiscal system that supports Build to Rent
  • Release more land for housing
  • Resolving the major construction skills shortage
  • More attention to Social Housing
  • Helping first time buyers, who are priced out of the market by the rising price, Despite Government-led initiatives like Help to Buy, first-time buyers are finding that they’re having to find vast deposits to be in with a chance of getting on the housing ladder
  • Support a new generation of high quality homes for social rent
  • Potential cuts to Stamp Duty, rendering significant savings for first-time buyers
  • Will the Help To Buy scheme be continued after 2020? The spring budget touched on Right to Buy and new measures for shared ownership
  • Ensuring people who need extra support have a safe home that meets their needs
  • Settle the question over what happens to social landlords’ rents after 2020
  • Align transport infrastructure and housing delivery more effectively
  • Offer ready permitted sites to SME builders
  • Local authorities to introduce new council tax bands for the most expensive properties

What are the politicians saying?
Theresa May vows to build new homes and has signalled a drive to build thousands of new houses, even calling it her personal mission to take charge of a massive effort to “build more homes, more quickly” (as quoted by, express.co.uk 2017).

Theresa May:
“The number of new homes being delivered each year has been increasing since 2010, but there is more we can do.

“We must get back into the business of building the good quality new homes for people who need them most.

“That is why I have made it my mission to build the homes the country needs and take personal charge of the Government’s response.

“Today I am seeing the work now underway to put this right and, in coming weeks and months, my Government will be going further to ensure that we build more homes, more quickly.

Sajid Javid:
Suggestions have been made by Community Secretary Sajid Javid on bold plans up to an extra £50bn to invest directly in new housing. He has called to take housing associations’ debt off the balance sheet, in the hope of ensuring housing associations have a stable investment environment to build more homes.

Martin Tett, The Local Government Association:
Martin Tett, the Local Government Association’s housing spokesman, said: “We are still significantly short of the 300,000 homes we need to be building each year. The last time we hit that number, in the 1970s, councils built more than 40% of them. Councils are serious about delivering the right kind of homes, supported by infrastructure, for our residents, and are playing their part – approving nine out of 10 planning permissions.”

The pressure is now on for the government to perform and help create a housing market that works for everyone, will they follow through with their proposed reforms in the Autumn Budget this Wednesday? All will soon to be revealed, Housing Growth Partnership will keep you up to date.

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