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Housing Bill 'ping-pong' continues as Kerslake digs in

A peer has tabled fresh amendments to the Housing and Planning Bill on Starter Homes and the replacement of council stock, as parliamentary ‘ping-pong’ continues.

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Last night the majority of MPs voted against Lords’ amendments to allow councils to build other types of low-cost homes for ownership alongside Starter Homes, and to allow councils to keep part of the higher-value empty homes levy to build ‘like-for-like’ replacement council housing.

However, the Lords are pushing back ahead of a debate in the upper chamber this afternoon. Crossbench peer Lord Bob Kerslake has tabled an amendment that “insists” on his original amendment to allow councils to build other types of low-cost housing for ownership as well as Starter Homes.

Lord Kerslake also tabled an amendment to allow councils to use part of the payment for higher-value empty properties to build like-for-like housing to replace council homes sold off to fund the void payment.

The government had insisted this aspect of the bill was under financial privilege, and therefore the Lords should not intervene.

However, Lord Kerslake’s new amendment states a council must be able to keep enough of the payment to fund “at least one new affordable home outside Greater London, and at least two new affordable homes in Greater London, for each old dwelling”.

It also states that if a council can demonstrate there is a need for social rented housing in the area, then the secretary of state “must consider any application from the authority to fund the provision of a new dwelling to be let as social housing, in respect of each old dwelling”.

The Housing and Planning Bill returns to the House of Lords, where peers will debate Lord Kerslake’s amendments, later today.


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