You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
Rents will be the top item in new housing minister’s in-tray
Whoever fills Gavin Barwell’s shoes will have strike a rent deal with the sector, says Helen Collins
When the country goes to the polls in a general election it usually means a new housing minister for England. With the last Conservative incumbent in that role, Gavin Barwell, losing his Croydon Central seat to Labour, we know the housing minister merry-go-round will continue.
Whoever fills Mr Barwell’s shoes, it seems likely that, as a Conservative-led coalition government will be focused on Brexit negotiations, more radical policies in areas such as housing will be avoided if possible in the next five years. The underlying theme will be delivery.
READ MORE
So what does this mean will be in the new housing minister’s in-tray?
For a start, it is important to note that the imbalance in the housing market in many parts of the country remains. In some areas there is a desperate need to build more homes and in others a need to ensure a more relevant housing tenure mix.
When the Housing White Paper was published in February, most housing professionals welcomed the fact it struck a constructive tone and embraced a mix of housing tenures – not just homeownership.
“Housing providers are ready to do a deal on rent flexibility with the government.”
As a result of this and plans that housing providers have already been putting in place using government grant and their own resources, housebuilding by housing associations and local authorities has increased.
The National Housing Federation (NHF) reported in May that starts of all tenures by housing associations in England for 2016/17 grew 13% to almost 48,000. This is a third of all home starts.
This was a point not lost on attendees at the NHF’s Affordable Home Ownership conference that I chaired yesterday in London.
The view at that event and certainly the view of many of our clients is that housing providers can and are doing more to boost housing supply. They have heard the government’s call and they are answering it.
As a result of this clear offer by social landlords to the new housing minister, the first ask is not to rock the boat once more.
This is particularly important as forecasts by Savills and others show the housing market growing much more slowly than in previous years. Therefore the delivery of a mix of tenures is even more important to ensure housing supply can continue to increase.
“This has the potential to be a win-win.”
This brings me to the issue that should sit at the top of the new housing minister’s in-tray: rents.
Negotiation is very much a watchword for this new parliament in the context of Brexit. It is also important in the housing sector, with the negotiation over the new rent settlement post-2020 pledged in the Housing White Paper.
Our view, based on our work with clients and others in the sector, is that housing providers – especially those with significant development plans – are ready to do a deal on rent flexibility with the government.
If handled well, this has the potential to be a win-win. More homes of the right mix in the right places for the government; greater certainty and control of their businesses for housing providers.
Other negotiations in this parliament will be tricky – this need not be one of them.
Helen Collins, director, Savills Housing Consultancy
