You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
An important argument has been partly won
Theresa May’s commitment to social rent shifts the terms of the debate, writes Martin Hilditch
Back in October 2010 this magazine pronounced the “end of social housing” (see below) when covering the news that the government was intending to channel its future funding into a new product – affordable rent.
It was a defining moment for housing provision. In that year 35,180 social rented homes were built – by 2015/16 this had collapsed to just 6,060 homes according to Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) statistics.
READ MORE
As it turns out, you can’t keep a good idea down – and given time 2017 may be seen as a similar defining moment in housing policy. Theresa May’s announcement at the Conservative Party conference of a £2bn fund – which the Conservatives’ press release suggested could deliver “around 25,000 homes for social rent” – means all the main parties in England are now committed to upping the delivery of homes at social rents for the first time in more than a decade. Councils were encouraged to bid for the funding – although unless further policy announcements follow it seems unlikely Ms May’s claim that this will unleash a “new generation of council houses” will materialise on any grand scale.
For now, at least, an important argument has been (part) won.
The prime minister “allowing” homes to be built for social rent “in those parts of the country where the need is greatest” is a tacit admission that affordable rent is a policy that doesn’t work for people on low incomes in every location.
As Chartered Institute of Housing chief executive Terrie Alafat pointed out in her response to Ms May’s speech this week, social rents “are the only truly affordable option for many people on low incomes”.
“This week, let’s welcome the return of social housing.”
As Ms May states, housing policies for 30 or 40 years have led to “a disaster for young people in particular”. So, this week let’s welcome the return of social housing (and a word of praise here for those in the sector, including Social Housing Under Threat (SHOUT) that kept the flame alive both publicly and in lobbying efforts behind the scenes in those wilderness years).
But let’s not lose sight of some of the gaps. There are still many questions to answer, including how many social rented homes will actually be delivered in practice and how tightly the government is defining “the parts of the country where need is greatest”.
More importantly still, is there a coherent vision for how the housing benefit system will interact with the stated goal of helping people on low incomes maintain or obtain a secure home? What future is there for supported housing in the mix?
Nonetheless, the speech marks a step forward. Due to some memorable mishaps it is perhaps unlikely to be remembered in the wider world for her housing announcements. But, it does change the terms of the debate – and for that it earns its place in housing’s history books.
Martin Hilditch, deputy editor, Inside Housing
