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We need grant levels that deliver truly affordable homes
Affordable rent levels are too high for many people – we need grant levels that deliver homes people on low incomes can afford to live in, writes Kate Wareing
Soha was delighted to discover from the recent Inside Housing list of developing associations that we were the third-largest developer in terms of proportion of our existing stock in the country last year. We are an ambitious mutual housing association, operating from our Oxfordshire base in a high cost and high demand area of the country. Building new homes for people in our communities who want to stay living here but find open market housing costs unaffordable is core to our mission.
Look closer at the list and you’ll see that, of the top 10 developing associations by percentage of stock, half were fellow members of the Placeshapers network. That’s not such a surprise when our figures show that our network of more than 100 community-focused housing associations are almost doubling output and will build 118,000 homes by 2022.
Placeshapers’ members are forming innovative partnerships across the country to develop homes that communities want, in places that they are committed to building and supporting.
“We are investing in the social and physical infrastructure on which homes are built”
We are investing in the social and physical infrastructure on which they are built. We are a diverse group whose collective success in securing development opportunities shows we know what is needed locally but we need our local authority partners to help, ensuring that the planning system can enable us to deliver more social rent homes through Section 106 sites.
At Soha, we’re actively seeking those opportunities right now.
We also need access to grant at levels that enable us to build truly affordable homes in our communities. And it can be done: at the request of the Greater London Authority, one community-focused housing association in a high-value area of London re-modelled its building programme on 48% grant rather than the current rate of an average of about 20%.
This showed that a 28% increase in grant would result in a 40% increase in its building programme for social rented homes; proof that investment in affordable homes returns more to the local and national economy.
Placeshapers’ members work across the country, and therefore face different environments in delivering their missions.
Each one of us is proud of our record in building new homes in our neighbourhoods.
Soha’s operating area has average house prices of more than 15 times annual incomes – and market rents reflect this pressure. ‘Affordable rents’ are high, and although we cap at Local Housing Allowance (LHA) levels, we know paying rents that are that high is a pressure for many of our residents, and actually unaffordable for some subject to the benefit cap.
Like all Placeshapers members, Soha is committed to our role in shaping communities.
We work together to share best practice, and collectively make the case for housing associations’ role as builders of communities – and not just of homes – to be valued and recognised.
We are rooted in our communities, and invest in their long-term futures. We want to work to improve the places we ourselves live and work in.
We are all watching closely the government announcements on addressing the housing – and housing affordability – crisis. The strength that comes from the diversity of our sector, and the partnerships that housing associations can create to deliver locally with and for communities, are vital to this.
Kate Wareing, chief executive, Soha Housing Association
