The Queen’s Speech seems to not have answered all questions about future policies as experts from various sectors line up to comment on the announcements made today.
The extension of the Right to Buy scheme, which will allow social housing tenants to buy the properties they are living in, is still questioned by property experts. Many doubt the scheme would do much good and there are concerns that people on low incomes might be pushed towards the private rented sector as a result of it.
The general consensus among property experts is that the new government has to do more to set a clear agenda for achieving its housing targets.
The housing bill included in the Queen’s Speech focuses on home ownership and housing supply. The agenda for improving those two pillars of the housing market has been set.
To help more people to own their own home the new legislation will aim:
- to enable the extension of Right to Buy levels of discount to housing association tenants
- to require local authorities to dispose of high-value vacant council houses which would help fund the Right to Buy extension discounts and the building of more affordable homes in the area
- to provide the necessary statutory framework to support the delivery of Starter Homes
- to take forward the Right to Build, requiring local planning authorities to support custom and self-builders registered in their area in identifying suitable plots of land to build or commission their own home
Key points on the agenda to boost housing supply are:
- to introduce a statutory register for brownfield land, to help achieve the target of getting Local Development Orders in place on 90% of suitable brownfield sites by 2020
- to simplify and speed up the neighbourhood planning system, to support communities that seek to meet local housing and other development needs through neighbourhood planning
- to give effect to other changes to housing and planning legislation that would support housing growth
Experts reaction on housing issues in the Queen’s Speech
Responding to the extension of the Right to Buy scheme, Stephen Johnson, managing director for commercial mortgages at Shawbrook Bank, said:
“We see the move to extend the Right to Buy scheme as part of a wider decline in the supply of social housing available to tenants. By encouraging tenants of Housing Associations to buy their homes, the government is increasing the reliance of remaining social tenants on availability within the private rental sector. Demand for the private rental sector is therefore the catalyst for the growth of the housing market moving forward.”
On the topic of housing supply Johson commented:
“We welcome any moves that will help to ease the restricted housing supply this country faces, and the government’s pledges on house building are a step in the right direction. However, these numbers alone will not fill the gap and the private rental sector remains the driving force behind the UK’s property market. This makes it more important than ever to have rental housing that is fit for purpose.
“Among our own clients we are seeing moves to meet the growing needs of the private rental sector, often through refurbishment, expanding existing properties, or converting properties into houses of multiple occupancy.
Looking ahead, he said:
“We expect the property sector to return to the upwards trend of the last few years. It remains to be seen exactly how manifesto pledges such as increased house building and Right to Buy will play out and the impact they will have on the market. We anticipate that the private rental sector will fall under continued government scrutiny, but at the moment the signs are once again positive for the UK’s property market.”
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Commenting on the housing bill, Charles Haresnape, chairman of the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (IMLA), said:
“The Queen’s Speech was full of positive rhetoric on homeownership as a key part of the Conservative agenda, but there is plenty of work to be done before handing over the keys to any new Starter Homes or Right to Buy properties. The government must work swiftly with the mortgage industry to ensure finance is available to help consumers with their purchases. If not, we will be left with more schemes that are implemented in a hurry with lenders and brokers having to play catch-up.
“Today’s speech also leaves a big question mark hanging over the Help to Buy mortgage guarantee, which is in danger of passing the halfway point with no clarify on its future. Reviving Right to Buy certainly promises another short-term boost to homeownership, but there must be a more joined-up approach to increasing the long term housing supply rather than focusing on short term demand.
“It is encouraging that the Housing Bill promises greater emphasis on Right to Build, brownfield development and measures to speed up the planning system. These must be a priority rather than an afterthought, and it remains to be seen if the government is prepared to go far enough on planning and supply to prevent a far greater housing crisis than the one we have today.”
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In his reaction to the Queen’s Speech, Andrew Bridges, managing director of estate agents Stirling Ackroyd, focused on the specifics of the London housing market:
“Housing was meant to feature heavily today, but there is little new sign that planning applications will be made easier or that London’s boroughs will be given clearer planning targets for what they have to offer future residents and businesses. Our research shows one in three potential homes are still rejected by the capital’s borough councils.
“A global city can’t be grown as a bonsai tree. Unless it is allowed to physically expand, either outwards or upwards, London’s economic growth will start to stutter.
“Concrete ideas now need to flesh out the paper cathedral of devolution. And it should start right here in the capital of the United Kingdom. Instead of rejecting homes and offices, local government should be actively encouraging new space and new opportunities for Londoners.”
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Charles Haresnape, managing director of mortgages and commercial lending at challenger bank Aldermore, underscored the importance of building new homes:
“The headlines may pay attention to the extension on Right to Buy and the desire to allow more people to own their own homes, but I particularly welcome and look forward to seeing the proposals around changing the planning laws.
“New rules that aim to simplify and speed up the planning system are necessary and the announcement to create a statutory register for brownfield land could make the process of identifying suitable land quicker too.
“Housing growth is vital to the economy, but it is important to recognise that if we are able to generate a supply of hundreds of thousands of homes, we need to ensure we review every element of the system from planning to finance for smaller house builders to make sure these targets can ultimately be achieved.”
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Huw Evans, director general at the Association of British Insurers (ABI), stressed the importance of protecting British homes from flooding:
“It is important steps are taken to provide more affordable homes, which are badly 
needed by many people. However this needs to be achieved in a sustainable way, within a planning system which is robust about refusing inappropriate development in areas of flood risk and which pays proper attention to advice from the Environment Agency.
“Losing your home to flooding is devastating, and repairs costs on average more than £16,500. The threat from flooding remains the UK’s biggest natural risk and consideration of the future impact of climate change must be part of the decision-making process about new housing.”
Evans added: “Over the next five years we need to ensure cross-party support to create a long-term savings culture. It is vital we see promised investment in flood prevention delivered and built upon, while the planning system is strengthened to take proper account of flood risk. It’s also necessary to continue modernising the civil justice system to work more effectively for claimants so less money is swallowed up by the legal process.”
