Economic case could win over government
Housing providers must convince government of the economic case for investing in affordable homes rather than focusing on need, Shelter’s head of policy has said.
Speaking at the launch of a report on affordable housing in London yesterday, Toby Lloyd said the sector needs to come up with arguments ‘that this government wants to listen to’.
‘The housing sector tends to bang on about housing need, I think we have to accept fundamentally the government does not care,’ he said.
‘It’s because their strategy of housing allocation is that it should be based on the market. That is not unreasonable, 80 per cent of the housing in this country is based on the market.
‘We need to maintain lines about value for money, the economic impact, both the positive impact for housing investment and the negative impact of a lack of housing investment.’
The report, which was produced by the London School of Economics for the G15 group of housing associations, makes the economic case for investing in affordable housing in the capital.
Steve Howlett, outgoing chair of the G15 and chief executive of housing association Peabody, questioned how the government’s affordable rent regime, which allows providers to charge up to 80 per cent of market rates, will affect London.
‘We believe that people on low, moderate incomes, and particularly families, should be able to live in central London,’ he said. ‘That’s becoming increasingly difficult for us because of the high rents we are being asked to charge under the new system.’
What the report says
- 40 per cent of overcrowded households are in London
- New social housing tenants in London spend 35 per cent of their average income on rents, compared to 31 per cent for England as a whole
- London accounts for 35 per cent of homeless households in the country
- Poor housing increases health and education costs, reduces productivity and is associated with crime and anti-social behaviour.
- 70 per cent of London’s business community see the lack of affordable housing as a constraint on the labour market.
- London provides more than 30 per cent of all social housing completions
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