The Week in Housing: will London’s ‘emergency’ housebuilding package work?

An interesting solution to the delivery crisis was floated this week as a coalition of private and public sector parties called for the government to use tax credits to fund 90,000 new social rent homes a year.

Fixing the planning system has been a key focus of the Labour government. A Conservative peer and vice-president of the Local Government Association raised concerns that recent changes to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill are not being given fair scrutiny because of political and fiscal pressures.

In other exclusive data-led features, we published our annual Chief Executive Salary Survey. It revealed an average pay rise of £14,500 and a widening gender pay gap among the housing associations we surveyed.

The Renters’ Rights Bill passed its final stage in the House of Commons this week, and is set to be brought into law through royal assent. The sector’s immediate reaction is here.

Under this bill, landlords who evict tenants so they can sell their property will be unable to re-let their home for 12 months if the sale falls through.

However, the ban will not apply to shared owners who have met conditions showing they had made a genuine effort to sell the property, after peers agreed an amendment to the legislation last week.

Another issue with delivery has been delays in approving schemes at the Building Safety Regulator (BSR). The BSR has now promised to speed up how it makes decisions as it targets clearing a backlog of Gateway 2 applications for more than 20,000 new homes by January.

However, this promise came as the National Fire Chiefs Council warned that funding and capacity gaps are holding back efforts to fix buildings with unsafe cladding, and enforcement alone cannot solve the building safety crisis.

Meanwhile, Rochdale Boroughwide Housing told more than 200 residents living in the town’s landmark seven tower blocks that they will have to move out of their homes due to safety concerns.

There was an interesting development in the UK Supreme Court after it sided with a house builder over a planning decision related to nutrient neutrality rules, in a verdict that could give the green light to the construction of thousands of new homes around the country.

In Northern Ireland, a major architecture body said landlords should operate within a funding model that incentives the reuse of existing buildings.

The Northern Ireland Housing Executive announced a £12.4m maintenance programme for a housing estate in the Creggan area of Derry.

Concern was raised in Wales that the “landmark” homelessness bill will not fully address the sector’s challenges.

A London council’s plan for a house-buying joint venture with maintenance giant Mears to help tackle homelessness has been put on ice for a second time due to high gilt rates, more than four years after it was originally announced.

Also in finance, a consultation has opened on proposed amendments to the Statement of Recommended Practices.

There were several big development announcements, including plans unveiled by Birmingham City Council and Berkeley St Joseph for a £2.5bn investment partnership that comes with a commitment to delivering up to 12,000 new homes.

Legal & General (L&G) has announced a £2bn commitment to housing, infrastructure and urban regeneration in the UK. This comes with a 10,000-home delivery target.

Inside Housing spoke to Shaun Holdcroft, L&G’s new head of affordable housing, to discuss the firm’s diverse acquisition strategy and the values it looks for in potential investors.

Have a great weekend.

Stephen Delahunty, news editor, Inside Housing

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

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S&P revises landlord outlook to negative over increased investment in homes