Jonathan Pearson, director at Residentially, looks at what the coming election could mean for the future of affordable housing in the UK.
With a general election on the horizon for the second half of this year, politicians have been sharpening their focus on what’s set to be a key battleground debate: how to fix the UK’s ongoing housing crisis.
Worsening issues like rising rents, a falling number of new homes being developed and record-high social housing waiting lists are affecting a growing number of people, so there’s likely to be a strong appetite for a party that can prove they’re dedicated to providing more support for affordable housing going forward.
In fact, a YouGov poll from earlier this year found that over half of people were more likely to vote for a party that’s committed to more funding for social and affordable homes.
And ever since their conferences last autumn, the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats have been sharing their intended policies and positioning to give the voting public a clear indication of what we should expect from our next Government when it comes to housing.
Increased housing supply
For example, we should certainly expect to see a renewed focus on development, whoever ends up taking power.
While mandatory housing targets were recently eased, Michael Gove has said the Conservatives remain committed to the current target of developing 300,000 new homes annually by the mid-2020s. Labour meanwhile has said it will reintroduce those mandatory targets to achieve an overall target of 1.5 million new homes within five years.
Michael Gove has said he also wants to build 30,000 social homes a year whilst both Labour and the Liberal Democrats have said they intend to develop as many as 150,000 social or affordable homes annually, with the Lib-Dems aiming to give new powers to local authorities to build their own social and affordable housing.
And the Conservatives’ Renters Reform Bill will include new measures to protect tenants, including abolishing 'no fault' evictions and removing arbitrary rent reviews.
Meanwhile, there are now reports the Conservatives are also considering reinstating the help-to-buy scheme to better support aspiring homeowners.
Bigger cities or new towns?
The Conservatives and Labour intend to redevelop more brownfield sites to achieve their ambitions and protect the country’s green belt, but we could see more housing in Britain’s cities should the Conservatives be re-elected, or what Labour has described as ‘the next generation of new towns’ if they win power.
Leeds and Cambridge have been named by the Conservatives as examples of places where they believe increasing supply where the demand is highest will be the most productive way of developing more housing. Whereas Keir Starmer has said Labour will focus on developing completely new areas to live on currently unused urban land close to busy transport hubs and with high levels of housing need.
And when it comes to planning reform, Labour has said this will be at the centre of its future economic policy, with priorities including intervening to approve new homes in poorly performing areas and recruiting hundreds of new planners to tackle the current backlog.
Meanwhile, the Conservatives have indicated that councils could be stripped of their planning powers if they fail to facilitate housebuilding, and that they will call for a change in the law in regards to net neutrality rules which could be holding up as many as 150,000 homes from being developed.
Turning the spotlight back onto housing
But the significance of these discussions goes beyond differing policies and targets.
The fact that housing is now being used as a key issue ahead of the general election is addressing what has historically been a far too inconsistent political approach.
After many years of affordable housing taking a back seat, with no less than 16 housing ministers since 2010, it can only be a positive that it is finally gaining traction with parties on all sides committing to a more stable and sustained approach to tackling some of the issues currently facing the country.
The election does offer all parties the opportunity to address these issues head-on.
The real test, however, will be in the implementation of these policies and their ability to effectively increase housing stock whilst prioritising affordability, sustainability, and local community needs.
But with debates set to continue in the coming months, my hope is that this spotlight will also lead to some important and much needed shifts in the way the country continues to talk about the housing crisis, whoever ends up taking power.
