The Week in Housing: Grenfell investigation update, consultations galore, calls for funding and policy reform

Homes England issued new guidance on shared ownership valuations. The change was welcomed by a campaign group, but there are concerns that gaps still remain.

A cross-party group of MPs warned the housing minister in a letter that the government needs to do more to ensure new build homes are of good quality.

In Wales, a housing association launched a new older people’s strategy, which sets out commitments on access to homes, services and support.

There were also calls for funding and tax reform after a new report set out how scrapping stamp duty and council tax, and replacing them with a partly devolved annual proportional property tax, could pay for an additional 100,000 social homes over the next decade.

The government was told that current funding levels for the Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP) are nowhere near enough, and an additional £100bn needs to be pumped in to deliver new social rent homes.

The current SAHP has a target of 180,000 homes over the 10-year period. This funding could increase the target to 90,000 homes a year annually, and is something Inside Housing and dozens of organisations across the sector called for ahead of the SAHP.

There was lots of news to come out of the the UK Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF) in Leeds this week.

First up, the housing minister announced that the government’s Small Sites Aggregator will now be rolled out nationally following pilot schemes, and will build 10,000 social rent homes a year.

West Midlands mayor Richard Parker launched an £11bn development corporation and a £3.8bn regeneration ‘war chest’.

The Regulator of Social Housing’s director of strategy suggested housing associations should reflect more on whether mergers deliver efficiencies or improved service provision. This is because “size is not a determinant of anything”, and particularly not of efficiency.

Attendees of UKREiiF also heard how housing association mergers have impacted demand for Section 106 homes on smaller sites, while the number of uncontracted homes is far below reported figures.

Finally, Homes England and the Greater London Authority have asked providers to re-profile their bids for the SAHP due to it being oversubscribed.

There was also positive development news from Homes England. The agency reported an annual rise in starts and completions, as it topped its target figure for unlocking new land for housing delivery.

In Northern Ireland, three social landlords were chosen to redevelop former tower block sites in Belfast.

One large house builder claimed that developers can “no longer invest” in London after its development with 12% affordable homes was rejected for a second time.

Karbon Homes will explore alternative ways of funding housebuilding that minimise the use of debt, as soaring repair costs place pressure on its finances.

In one of Inside Housing’s longer reads this week, we looked at what an Olympic Park development can tell us about the future of London regeneration.

There were a number of concerns about building and fire safety issues. In London, a coroner has written to the government and three other national bodies to warn about inadequate monitoring of fire risks in sheltered accommodation, after a disabled man died having accidentally set himself alight.

We also interviewed the mother of a young man who died after his balcony collapsed about why she is calling for more transparency from social landlords on safety standards.

We took an in-depth look at transfer slabs, and whether the risk posed by this construction method is the latest frontier in the building safety crisis.

Plus, Notting Hill Genesis is facing a tribunal hearing brought by a group of leaseholders who seek to challenge the claims made in a report that led to a 21-fold increase in their building insurance premiums.

In Scotland, sector groups expressed their disappointment after the new Scottish National Party administration in Holyrood scrapped housing as a standalone cabinet post.

Have a good weekend.

Stephen Delahunty, news editor, Inside Housing

Say hello: stephen.delahunty@oceanmedia.co.uk

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