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Editor’s comment


A new housing broom could be on its way


Patrick Mooney, News Editor


T e announcement of a General Election for early July came as a great surprise to most of the country and indeed to most of the cabinet according to newspaper reports. It quickly led to the announcement that many MPs would be standing down including the Housing Secretary Michael Gove, who certainly raised the profi le of the housing brief while he held it. But what will be his housing legacy? Could it be the increased level of regulation he brought in for social landlords, or the somewhat confusing picture around housebuilding targets? T ere was the missed opportunity provided by Levelling Up, assuming that it really was meant to deliver a redistribution of wealth and was never more than just a gimmick. Only time will tell, but his successor will not be without advice and suggestions, particularly in terms of the steps needed to increase the supply of housing (upto and possibly beyond 300,000 new homes a year), especially building more social rented housing, but also the need to ramp up investment in improving housing conditions overall and energy effi ciency levels. Sadly the calling of the election has meant that the Conservatives’ fl agship housing legislation, the Renters (Reform) Bill,


failed to reach the statute book. T e headline from this was that the 2019 manifesto commitment to ban no-fault evictions could not be delivered despite all of the endless hours spent on its passage in both the Commons and the Lords. Trying to get agreement on this proved to be very tricky, not least because many of the Government’s own backbenchers were private landlords and they wanted greater protections for their property investments. However, there are grounds for optimism as it is highly likely that whichever party forms the next Government they will reintroduce the bill, albeit with changes to it. If the Labour party emerges triumphant, then there is a strong possibility that some form of rent controls will also be brought in. T e private rented sector has just seen a year of record-breaking rent increases, so it is highly likely that such a move will be very popular with tenants, so long as it doesn’t result in lots of rental properties being sold, demand increasing and rents being driven up. It’s a delicate balance that needs to be struck.


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MISMATCH BETWEEN PLANS AND DELIVERY T e worsening overall condition of private rentals and the failure to crackdown on the illegal subletting of fl ats by various holiday booking agencies will also feature in Gove’s political obituary. He promised much, but his delivery did not match the stated ambitions and ultimately he is likely to be remembered for his department’s under performance. I suspect Gove’s biggest regret will be the rise in homelessness and in particular the large number of children growing up without a permanent roof over their heads. T is is both a tragic loss of life chances, but also the most terrible waste of money which could be a lot better spent on improving conditions, or in paying for new housing to be built. Several Bills did manage to squeeze through the short wash-up period and this included the Leasehold and Freehold


Bill. T is new law aims to make it cheaper and easier for more people to extend their lease, buy their freehold and take over management of their building. However, plans to remove ground rent - a charge leaseholders pay on top of their mortgage – or to cap it at £250, have been dropped. Several Conservative peers expressed their concern that a “complex and diffi cult” piece of law was being rushed through. Another peer who backed it said the bill was “suboptimal” and “not the revolution” hoped for but added: “It’s the only game in town.” In fact the bill was one of the last to get through, passing at 6:30pm on Friday evening, just hours before Parliament was closed for the election campaign to start. It remains to be seen if the next Government will attempt to amend the new law. Meanwhile what are the Labour party thinking of doing? Whatever it is I am sure the sector would like some continuity in


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HOUSING MANAGEMENT


& MAINTENANCE JUN/JUL 2024


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Industry Viewfi nder The Decarbonisation of Social Housing – Part Two


On the cover...


Special subsidence feature


How Redditch Borough Council is putting tenants fi rst by minimising disruption. Read the report on page 32.


Update your registration here: See page 32. HMM_0607_2024 Covers.indd 1 27/06/2024 15:31 4 | HMM June/July 2024 | www.housingmmonline.co.uk


Special subsidence feature: How Redditch Borough Council is putting tenants fi rst by minimising disruption.


personnel and policies, and that Housing ministers last longer than a year in offi ce. T e churn and turnover in ministers over the last 14 years became something of a joke, with junior ministers moved on before they had mastered their brief. Housing is by nature a long-term project and it would help if politicians were given the time to understand what the issues are and can then work with housing professionals to deliver solutions and improvements. If we can’t manage this, then the prospects of delivering 300,000 new homes a year and cutting our appalling homeless fi gures remains remote.


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