FINANCE
could create new opportunities for shared ownership or other housing schemes. Steve Wood, CEO of the National House Building Council regards the moves as positive, “We welcome the new Government’s policy to deliver 1.5 million homes over the next five years, even if our new build registration numbers show there is a mountain to climb. Scaling up will take time but we can be encouraged by the Government’s announcements on new homebuyer incentives, changes to the planning system and investment in infrastructure, including power grids, water supply and roads.” LEASEHOLD REFORM Labour’s manifesto said it would “finally bring the feudal leasehold system to an end”, banning new leasehold flats, tackling unregulated and unaffordable ground rent charges and making commonhold the default tenure for new apartments. It would also enact the package of Law Commission proposals to make it easier for leaseholders to gain the right to manage the property and a share in the freehold, and end “the injustice of ‘fleecehold’ private housing estates and unfair maintenance costs”. The King’s Speech confirmed that a Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill will be drafted to put these plans into action, giving both leaseholders and those buying homes on estates with service charges more control over their property.
EXPERT COMMENT
The new Government is prioritising homebuilding, promising to deliver 1.5 million homes during its rst term of of ce. With a nationwide shortage of some 4.3 million homes, this still leaves a big hole, but it’s a start. There’s talk of building on “grey belt” land. Knight Frank has identi ed 11,000 grey belt sites, which could deliver 200,000 new homes – a fraction of the 1.5 million promised but encouraging nonetheless. New towns are also being discussed but these are likely to be longer term projects. Arguably, the most promising area being targeted by the Government is unused brown eld land. This is land that has already been built on but which isn’t being used, including the empty shops and of ces that blight our high streets. According to countryside charity CPRE, around 1.2 million new homes could be built using redundant brown eld sites. This would not only account for most of the Government’s 1.5 million goal, it’s also a vote-winner as green eld land is untouched and it will help bring our town centres back to life. It’s the quickest route to hitting the target, but the Government must actively encourage people to get into small-scale development to take on these projects, as larger homebuilders won’t touch them.
OTHER PLANS
process to ratchet that up to £2,000, simply jump straight to advertising at £2,000 from the outset. That might bring greater clarity, but it won’t restrain rental growth.”
Labour has longer-term ambitions, announced in its election manifesto, that didn’t make it into the King’s Speech – for example, the manifesto stated, “Labour will work with local authorities to give first time buyers the first chance to buy homes and end the farce of entire developments being sold off to international investors before houses are even built”. Before the election, Sir Keir Starmer also promised to deliver Freedom to Buy – a permanent mortgage guarantee scheme that would enable eligible first time buyers to purchase a home with a 5% deposit. The party also pledged to charge an additional 1% Stamp Duty on residential property purchases by non-UK residents. These proposals are not off the table, but are further down the line. Taken as a package, the new Government talks a good talk about tackling
BUILDING MORE HOMES
Everyone agrees that a shortage of homes is fuelling house price increases, so Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ announcement that Labour will deliver 1.5 million new homes in the term of Parliament is good news for first time buyers. The Government won’t build the homes, but has reinstated (and in some cases increased) compulsory housebuilding targets for local authorities, and will recruit more planning officers and make planning decisions for major developments nationally. Rachel Reeves also announced that the Government would reclassify some unattractive greenbelt areas as “grey belt”, suitable for development. Estate agent Knight Frank identified 11,000 of these sites, which, combined with the Chancellor’s pledge that all developments on grey belt would have at least 50% affordable housing,
the housing shortage – and industry experts have broadly welcomed the
Ritchie Clapson, Co-founder, propertyCEO
reintroduction of housing targets.Yet the policies announced so far are not especially radical or different to what has gone before, so it remains to be seen what is actually achieved in the coming term of Parliament.
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