industry news 7
same way and funds for new social/affordable housing are likely to face severe cuts. By way of a sop to housing associations, it is
expected that the introduction of regulatory fees by the HCA, will be further delayed until 2017 at the earliest. This policy was first mooted as part of the shake up of housing regulation, following the review by Professor Martin Cave.
Benefits and rents
The housing benefit bill amounts to something like £26 billion – so you can see why it is being targeted for cuts, particularly as a number of spending areas are being protected – but much of this goes to private sector landlords, who are absolutely coining it in. Private rents have risen by more than 10 per
cent in the last year, according to figures published in June. The Homelet Rental Index shows the average
private sector rent across the United Kingdom in the three months to May 2015 was £935, a 10.7 per cent increase on the £845 average for the same period in 2014. The highest percentage rent increase was in the
South West of England which saw a 13.6 per cent increase to £878. Scotland, the South East and Greater London all saw huge increases, of 9.6 per cent, 9.4 per cent and 9.2 per cent respectively. Martin Totty, chief executive officer of Barbon
Insurance Group, parent company of Homelet, said: “Rental values are now increasing year-on- year across the country, with no exception.
HOUSING ASSOCIATIONS
Brandon Lewis: housing associations can be ‘champions of aspiration’
ations to seize this historic opportunity and help their tenants realise the dream of owning their own home. Acknowledging the changes will be challeng-
I
ing, he nevertheless asked them to consider whether it is fair to tell tens of thousands of peo- ple that they must “remain renters for the rest of their lives”. He also reaffirmed the government’s commit-
ment to reinvest money from sales into more homes and that every home sold will be replaced. Under the government’s ambitious plans,
around 1.3 million housing association tenants will get the same home ownership opportunities as council tenants through the extension of Right to Buy. Housing Minister Brandon Lewis said: “We
want to help anyone who works hard and aspires to own their own home to turn their dream into
n a speech to the Chartered Institute of Housing in Manchester on 25 June 2015, the Housing Minister urged housing associ-
a reality. The Right to Buy supports those dreams – it’s why we want to give housing association tenants the same home ownership opportunities as council tenants. “I know these changes will be challenging for
housing associations but I also know they care deeply about their tenants. That’s why I’m calling on them to support our vision and become the champions of aspiration. “Only by working together can we make a real
difference to the lives of hard-working people and keep the country building.”
Ambitious housing vision
Over 200,000 people have been helped into home ownership through government-backed schemes, including more than 30,000 through Right to Buy since the scheme was reinvigorated in 2012. The extension to Right to Buy is central to the government’s ambitious vision for housing over
the next five years that includes: •Delivering 200,000 starter homes that will be sold with a 20 per cent discount to first-time buyers under 40
•£38 billion of public and private investment to deliver an extra 275,000 affordable homes, achieving the fastest rate of delivery for 20 years
•Creating a £1 billion brownfield fund to get land ready to build on and make way for 400,000 new homes
•Extending the Help to Buy: equity loan to 2020, helping thousands more to become homeowners and giving housebuilders the certainty they need to invest in new build- ings and create more jobs
Housing is central to the government’s long-term economic plan, with housing starts at their highest annual total since 2007. It means that more than 570,000 new homes have been built since April 2010.
respond online at
www.hbdonline.co.uk “After a short period of London rents rising
more slowly, when it seemed the rest of the UK may catch up or even exceed the capital in the speed at which rent prices were increasing, we now see the rate of price rises in London returning towards double-digit growth, while the rest of the UK continues to rise steadily.”
New homes
Some good news (of a sort) came with the announcement that the Government has pro- vided nearly 800,000 new homes across England since 2009. Official statistics from the Valuation Office
Agency, show the Government’s plan to help fam- ilies achieve their dream of home ownership and boost jobs and growth in the house building industry is working. The figures highlight an increase of 795,000
new homes since 2009. The annual increase is 173,000 homes between March 2014 and March 2015. This compares with the required 250,000 new homes required to keep up with new house- hold formations – so even when we are doing well, we are still behind the curve. Communities Secretary Greg Clark said:
“Today’s figures show how our efforts have got the country building again, with almost 800,000 additional homes delivered since the end of 2009.” “Our radically reformed planning system has
put power in the hands of local communities, helping over 200,000 households onto the prop- erty ladder through government-backed schemes.
While our efforts to cut the deficit have helped keep interest rates at their record low making mortgages more affordable. This government is on the side of working people and is supporting their aspirations to own their own home.” This is essentially just about everything we need to know!
But building rates fall
Against this we also learnt that output in the con- struction industry fell by 0.8 per cent in April compared to the previous month, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The drop followed a 1.4 per cent rise in March. Despite the slowdown, construction output
experienced its 23rd consecutive month of year- on-year growth, increasing by 1.5 per cent compared with April 2014. However, April 2015’s figure was the weakest year-on-year growth since November 2013. Repairs and maintenance decreased by 4.8 per
cent compared to the previous month, while all new work increased by 1.6 per cent. Within the repairs and maintenance category, public housing repairs and maintenance fell by 6.2 per cent. New housing was the main contributor to the
increase of 1.6 per cent within all new work, increasing by 5.4 per cent. Industry insiders observed an increase of
affordable housing completions ahead of the end of the HCA’s grant period and there have been reports of a gradual increase in housebuilding among small builders, according to the ONS.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68