Incentives for landowners to sell
Ultimately, the UK Government will fail to meet its housing target if land cannot be sold. Encouraging landowners to release their land for development is paramount. This can be achieved through tax breaks, including Stamp Duty Land Tax, especially for projects that deliver a large percentage of affordable or social housing.
Local delivery must match local demand
New homes must reflect the needs of the community so that properties built can be filled by residents or those moving into the area. Our members often report that developments are left empty because the size and tenure of the homes don’t match the demand from the local market.
We therefore reject proposals to use a percentage of existing housing stock levels as the basis of calculations for the number of new homes required. Any method to determine the number of properties built must directly respond to the demand for homes in the area. This may not necessarily distribute the number of new properties evenly across the country but may mean homes are built where needed most.
Similarly, we believe councils should be able to challenge the calculation of a local housing needs assessment if they provide evidence that the actual demand is significantly higher or lower.
Incentivise builders to include affordable housing
The returns that developers can achieve on lower-cost homes are dropping as the price of labour and materials continues to rise, making them less willing to be involved in affordable housing projects.
The UK Government must provide subsidies or other incentives for companies to build in areas where the local authority can demonstrate a need for more affordable homes, for example by reducing or removing Stamp Duty Land Tax, to reduce their price while not impacting the incentive for developers, or by providing additional payments to developers for each affordable home, artificially driving down prices for consumers.
The short-term cost of such a scheme would be offset, at least in part, by savings on temporary accommodation and a reduction in the financial impact that poor housing has on the NHS and wider society.
Maintaining a pipeline
We strongly agree with the proposals to ensure that all local planning authorities demonstrate five years of specific, deliverable sites. Propertymark opposed removing this requirement in the first place as it enables decision-making and long-term planning for the delivery of new homes.
An independent, long-term planning strategy
Long-term planning, when housing is often very politicised, is difficult. We recommend that the Ministry introduce an independent, non-governmental body to establish a long-term planning strategy, with commitments from the Ministry to take on board any report produced by the body into account.
To ensure a balanced mix of housing is delivered, Propertymark will continue to work closely with the UK Government and other stakeholders.
What is the National Planning Policy Framework?
The NPPF sets out the UK Government's economic, environmental and social planning policies for England, which apply to the preparation of local and neighbourhood plans and decisions on planning applications. That includes policy on proposals affecting the green belt and the circumstances where development on land could be within the green belt.
Focusing on planning reform is an important step in the UK Government delivering the number of homes it has promised.
Propertymark consulted with our members who said there is a need for planning requirements to be more area specific and for greater local knowledge to be applied in planning decisions.
To support build out rates, the type and cost of construction must be taken into consideration. Additionally, the UK Government must have a long-term strategy for housing to ensure homes are energy efficient and have good infrastructure, including road upgrades, public transport, and health and education centres.
