Welfare policy

• Section 21 evictions and periodic tenancies

Section 21 evictions will be abolished alongside the introduction of changes to tenancy arrangements. Assured tenancies and assured shorthold tenancies will be replaced by periodic tenancies providing more security and flexibility for tenants who will be able to remain in their home until they decide to end the tenancy by giving 2 months’ notice. There will be limited exceptions for example, houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) and designated student accommodation.

• Grounds for possession

Landlords will be able to recover their property where they wish to sell or move-in close family, however tenants will benefit from a 12 month protected period at the beginning of a tenancy, during which a landlord cannot evict them to move-in or sell the property. There are also new safeguards for tenants who temporarily fall into arrears and the mandatory threshold for eviction is increased from 2 to 3 months and the notice period increased from 2 to 4 weeks.   There are also various specified grounds for use in limited circumstances where accommodation is intended for a particular purpose and where the tenant no longer meets the conditions under which the tenancy was granted (e.g. supported housing).

• Rent Increases

New arrangements will be introduced designed to empower tenants to challenge unreasonable rent increases (often used as a backdoor means of eviction). If a tenant believes the proposed rent exceeds the market rate, they can challenge this at the First-tier Tribunal which will determine what the rent should be, either confirming the proposed level or setting a lower figure.

• Private Rented Sector Ombudsman

Private landlords in England with assured or regulated tenancies will be legally required to join a new PRS Ombudsman. The service will be available free of charge to tenants and funded through a charge on landlords. Local councils will have the power to levy fines where landlords fail to join the Ombudsman.

• Renting with Pets

Tenants will gain the right to request a pet in the property. Landlords must consider these requests and cannot unreasonably refuse. However, landlords will be able to require pet insurance to cover any damage to their property.

• New Private Rented Sector Database

Landlords will be required by law to register with a new Private Rented Sector Database with penalties for those who fail to comply. The database will help landlords understand their legal obligations and provide information to tenants about landlord performance. It will also help local authorities to target enforcement activity. Landlords will need to be registered on the database to have access to certain possession grounds.

• Discriminatory Practices

New measures will address discrimination against prospective tenants in receipt of benefits or with children with financial penalties for those who fail to comply.

• Decent Homes Standard

The DH standard will be enforced within the PRS giving renters better value homes and removing the blight of poor property condition.

• Awaab’s Law

The Bill confirms that Awaab’s Law will be extended to the PRS, setting clear legal expectations about the timeframes within which landlords must take action to make homes safe where they contain serious hazards.

• Rental Bidding

Landlords and agents will be required to publish an asking rent for their property, and it will be illegal to accept offers made above this rate.

• Local authority enforcement

There will be a new requirement for local authorities to report on enforcement activity along with expanded civil penalties for non-compliance (including fines between £7,000 and £40,000)

• Rent repayment Orders

New measures will increase the deterrent effect of rent repayment orders making them easier for tenants and local authorities to access.

Review of Housing Policy Announcements

There have been a number of announcements relating to social housing policy in the first three months of the Labour Government:

Social Housing Quality and Professionalisation

The Secretary of State confirmed at the Labour Party Conference that Awaab’s Law will be introduced for the social rented sector this autumn, with plans to introduce it to the private rented sector at a later date, once the legislation is in place (see Renter’s Rights Bill above).

The government has also confirmed its intention to press ahead with the Competence and Conduct standard for the social rented sector to ensure tenants receive a professional service and are treated with respect and dignity. The timetable for implementation has yet to be confirmed.

The Secretary of State has also confirmed the government’s intention to consult on a new Decent Homes Standard for social and privately rented homes, however no specific timescales have been indicated to date.

Measures to ensure decent homes for all – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Building New Homes

Since the election there have been a number of announcements to promote newbuild development and wider economic growth, in line with the Labour Manifesto commitment to build 1.5 million new homes over the next 5 years.  These include:

• Consultation on a revised Planning Policy Framework to overhaul the planning system, opening up new areas for development as well as speeding up planning approvals and delivering wider economic growth. (for further details see August Newsletter)
• New Towns Taskforce to advise and support government aspirations to develop a programme of new towns.
• New Homes Accelerator programme to bring together key agencies, leveraging resources to unblock large development sites around the country where progress has stalled.
• Brownfield Land Release Fund will provide £68 million to 54 councils to fund demolition of empty buildings, site clearance and decontamination of industrial land.

The Autumn Budget on 30th October should provide more detail around funding for new social housing development.

Local Authority Housing Fund

The existing proposals for a third round of the Local Authority Housing Fund are going ahead as planned over two financial years (2024-25 and 2025-26). The £450 million programme announced by the previous government will be made available to councils to acquire better quality temporary accommodation for families at risk of homelessness as well as providing suitable housing for those on the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme.

Right to Buy

The government moved quickly to announce new flexibilities for RTB receipts which will be in place for an initial period of 2 years, subject to review at the end of 2025/26:

• Councils can use up to 100% retained receipts to fund replacement homes, a significant increase from the previous 50% cap.
• Right to Buy receipts may be combined with section 106 contributions.
• The cap on the percentage of replacements delivered as acquisitions has been lifted.

A wider review of the RTB scheme is underway within MHCLG with a consultation due later in the Autumn. This is likely to focus on the level of RTB discounts, particularly the increased levels in place since 2012. The Secretary of State has indicated that the intention is to restrict rather than abolish the scheme.

Retained Right to Buy receipts and their use for replacement supply: guidance – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Local Connection or residency rules

The majority of stockholding councils have allocations schemes which include a local connection or residency test as part of the housing application process. However, in line with Labour’s election manifesto commitment that UK Armed Forces Veterans will be exempt from rules which require a local connection to access social housing, the government has recently written to councils setting out the policy position with formal regulations to follow in due course. The government has also clarified that a similar exemption will apply to other priority groups where demonstrating a local connection can be difficult, including care leavers and victims of domestic abuse.

UK Armed Forces Veterans given social housing exemption – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Submission to the Autumn Budget and Spending Review

CWAG has linked up with ARCH and the NFA on a joint submission covering both the Autumn Budget and the Spending Review.

The submission sets out the scale of the current funding crisis facing many council Housing Revenue Accounts (HRAs) and outlines its origins including the abandonment of both rent convergence and the formula for annual rent increases agreed within the 2012 self-financing settlement. The requirement to reduce rents by 1% per year between 2016 and 2020 significantly undermined capacity within HRAs reducing council income by an estimated £2.4 billion (amounting to an estimated loss of £42 billion from business plans by 2042). In addition, the further cap on rent rises in 2023-24 is estimated to have cut income by £644 million.

The income shortfall created by these measures has undermined the capacity of business plans to keep pace with stock investment needs, a situation further exacerbated by the emergence of new expenditure pressures including the cost of compliance with the new fire and building safety requirements, the new consumer regulatory regime, the need to improve energy efficiency and progress decarbonisation.

Drawing on the latest Savills research the submission sets out the scale of the current funding shortfall in relation to the existing stock and calls for a longer-term strategy to address this whilst setting out the necessary conditions for councils to deliver on the government’s ambition to build a new generation of council homes.

Joint ARCH NFA CWAG Autumn Budget  and Spending Review Submission

Housing Policy Update

In a major policy speech on 30th July Angela Raynor, Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary, set out how the new government intends to deliver on the Party’s manifesto commitments on housing. The Secretary of State has also written to local authorities setting out the detail of the government’s programme. Read letter here

Planning Reform

Reform of the planning system is regarded as the key to addressing current housing shortages and delivering wider economic growth. A consultation covering changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) was issued to coincide with Angela Raynor’s policy statement. The consultation includes the following proposed changes:

• A new mandatory standard methodology for assessing housing need and a requirement for local authorities to plan for the resulting figure.
• A requirement to identify ‘grey belt’ land within the Green Belt, to be brought forward into the planning system.
• New “golden rules” for land released in the Green Belt to ensure it delivers in the public interest including a requirement that development should include 50% affordable homes along infrastructure such as schools and GP surgeries.
• Broadening the existing definition of brownfield land and a strengthened expectation that applications on brownfield sites will be approved.
• Raising building densities in urban areas.
• Clarifications around the ‘presumption in favour of sustainable development’ including new safeguards against poor quality development.

Housing Targets

Mandatory housing targets are to be reinstated requiring all councils in England to plan for increased housebuilding in their areas. The target set out in the Labour manifesto of 1.5 million homes over the life of the Parliament has been uplifted from 300,000 homes per year to just over 370,000 homes per year. This reflects a change in the methodology for calculating targets to ensure development is proportionate to the size of existing communities, while adding an extra level of ambition in the most unaffordable areas. The target for London has been reduced from 100,000 homes to around 80,000 homes per year.

 Green Belt Land

Commitments to focus development on previously developed brownfield sites remain, however there is an expectation that in order to achieve housebuilding targets, councils will need to consider development on parts of the Green Belt that are of low environmental quality, referred to as the ‘grey belt’.

Social Housing

The Secretary of State confirmed that the government has ambitious plans for social and affordable housing, namely to ‘deliver the biggest boost to social and  affordable housing in a generation’.  Detailed plans will be brought forward as part of the multiyear spending review due to conclude in Spring 2025.

There will also be an announcement on future social housing rents as part of the Autumn Budget Statement on the 30^th October which will ensure council housing finances are put onto a secure footing with rent stability enabling councils ‘to be able to borrow and invest in new and existing homes’.

Right to Buy

The Government has announced a review of the Right to Buy including eligibility criteria and protections for new homes. A consultation on changes will be issued in the autumn. The increased Right to Buy discounts introduced in 2012 will also be reviewed and changes implemented via secondary legislation.

Increased flexibilities on how councils can use Right to Buy receipts have also been announced. The following changes will come into effect immediately and will apply for 2 years initially, subject to review:

• Removing the cap on the percentage of replacements homes that can be delivered as acquisitions.
• Removing the 50% cap on the level of RTB receipts that can be used to fund the cost of a replacement home.
• Allowing councils to combine Right to Buy receipts with section 106 contributions.

Awaab’s Law

The Government has also confirmed that Awaab’s Law will be introduced into the social rented sector, with more detail and secondary legislation to implement this in due course.

The summaries below highlight the key policy areas and approaches as set out in the Party Election Manifestos:

Building New Homes

Labour

Plan to build 1.5 million new homes in England over the next parliament. Proposals include:

• Restoring mandatory housing targets and strengthening the presumption in favour of sustainable development.
• Prioritising a ‘brownfield first’ approach and a more strategic approach to the Green Belt which would allow the release of lower quality ‘grey belt’ land under certain conditions.
• Building a new generation of new towns.
• Introducing new mechanisms for cross boundary strategic planning that will require Combined and Mayoral Authorities to plan strategically for growth in their areas.
• Reform of compulsory purchase compensation rules to improve site assembly and address the inflated price premiums achieved by landowners on land should planning permission be granted.
• Supporting local authorities to fund additional planning officers, through increasing the rate of the stamp duty surcharge paid by non-UK residents.

Conservatives

Plan to build 1.6 million new homes in England over the next parliament. Proposals include:

• Abolishing legacy EU nutrient neutrality rules to unlock development of 100,000 new homes with existing planning permissions.
• Fast tracking the delivery of homes on brownfield land in urban areas and setting up locally led urban development corporations.
• Raising housing density levels in inner London (to levels comparable with other European cities).
• Supporting small and local builders by requiring councils to set aside land for them and lifting Section 106 burdens on smaller sites.

Liberal Democrats

Plan to increase building of new homes to 380,000 per year across the UK. Proposals include:

• Building 10 new garden cities
• Reforming the Land Compensation Act 1961 to allow councils to buy land for housing based on current use value rather than a hope value basis.
• Improving planning outcomes by properly funding local planning departments, by allowing local authorities to set their own fees.
• Expanding neighbourhood planning across England.
• Expanding rural housing provision by encouraging the use of rural exception sites.
• Trialling Community Land Auctions to help fund vital local services and ensure local communities receive a fair share of the benefits of new development in their area.
• Encouraging development of existing brownfield sites.
• Introducing ‘use-it-or-lose-it’ planning permissions.
• Investing in skills, training and modern methods of construction.