ROOF Blog

The South East plan was revealed yesterday. The government cut the housing target by 1 per cent until 2026, setting a final figure of 654,000 new homes in the region, or 32,700 homes a year. At least 60 per cent of all the houses will be built on brownfield land and 35 per cent will be affordable.

Housing for first-time buyers is at its most affordable for more than six years, according to a survey. The Halifax affordability review found that house price to average earnings ratio has declined more than 25 per cent from its peak of 5.84 in July 2007 to 4.34 in March this year. The proportion of disposable earnings spent on mortgage payments has also fallen significantly, from a peak of 48 per cent in 2007 to 31 per cent in the first quarter of 2009, while the proportion of local authorities where housing is affordable for a first-time buyers has more than trebled since 2007 – up to 21 per cent from 6 per cent in the third quarter 2007.

The Homes and Communities Agency has invested in a community land trust scheme for the first time since its launch last year. The scheme, to which the HCA has contributed £212,000 of the £650,000 development costs, will build four affordable homes on the grounds of a property on Holy Island in Northumberland.

In London, mayor Boris Johnson has said he would review his commitment to deliver 50,000 new affordable homes in light of the difficult economic circumstances. City Hall released a statement outlining the mayor’s plan to change the rules on affordable housing, and repeated his commitment to removing the London-wide affordable housing target of 50 per cent.

The right to buy for newly built affordable homes in Scotland will be abolished by the Scottish government. Under a draft housing Bill, the government is also consulting on a proposal to block tenants moving into existing affordable homes from exercising the right to buy. This move could mean 18,000 homes were kept for affordable rents for the coming decade. Shelter Scotland has welcomed the move, calling it the ‘death knell’ of an outdated policy.

Figures from ROOF’s Affordability Index show that despite house price falls, first-time buyers are still locked out of home ownership as the level of deposit required soars. The average price for first-timers is almost £30,000 less than last year, however, deposits have doubled to more than £30,000. And lack of mortgage finance was not the only factor holding back buyers – rising repossessions, unemployment and economic uncertainty have all had an impact and the number of loans to first-time buyers nearly halved.

The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and CABE have announced they are teaming up to improve the design quality of new homes, following the publication of a survey into the design of new affordable housing. The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and CABE have announced they are teaming up to improve the design quality of new homes, following the publication of a survey into the design of new affordable housing. The findings showed nearly that 61 per cent of housing schemes were average and 18 per cent good or very good, compared with 21 per cent assessed as poor including a ‘lack of distinctiveness’ and having design that ‘does not correspond to its context’. The report recommends closer working between registered social landlords (RSLs) and local planning authorities, and enforcing minimum design standards. In a joint statement the HCA and Cabe said: ‘The HCA will continue to promote high standards of quality in all the housing it funds… CABE will continue to support the HCA and RSLs across the country to make this a reality.’

Five of the UK’s largest housing associations (HAs) have joined forces to publish a report challenging the current model for providing affordable housing. Calling themselves the Housing Futures Network, the HAs are arguing for ‘radical, wide ranging’ reforms in housing benefit and building finance, while opening up access to affordable housing to people with a wider range of incomes.

Homes and Communities Agency is looking at how it could contribute more towards bringing empty homes back into use, using part of its £8.4 billion affordable housing budget. However, it has warned that it could not bring all 700,000 empty homes back into use because homes would have to be of the right type and in the right place.

The government has today set out proposals for helping rural communities. It says it will relax planning restrictions to allow for more affordable housing, but the government has rejected calls to restrict the growth of second homes in rural areas. Liberal Democrat MP Matthew Taylor on whose report the government’s proposals are based, broadly welcomed the response, but warned that ‘dozens’ of villages will die unless the wealthy are stopped from buying holiday homes in ‘desirable areas’.