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Election special: Greens call for new role for councils in buying empty and ex-PRS homes
Green Party leader Carla Denyer talks to Grainne Cuffe about how the party proposes to tackle the housing crisis, while focusing on empty homes and added purchasing power for councils
“Done,” Carla Denyer says. She is replying to our question: will she back Inside Housing’s Build Social campaign? Ms Denyer is co-leader of the Green Party and its candidate for the new parliamentary seat, Bristol Central.
She has been a Bristol councillor since 2015. Her response to our campaign, calling for all political parties to commit to delivering 90,000 social homes per year in England, is not surprising given her party’s more ambitious target (150,000 per year in England).
The Green Party currently has one MP in the House of Commons. It is aiming to get that number to four in the general election. When the two current largest parties are reluctant to make any solid commitments around social housing, the obvious question is how would the Greens deliver those homes? And what other housing policies would the Greens like to see?
“The 150,000 a year is creating that many social homes, not building them all from scratch. There are around 600,000 empty homes in the UK and we would also make it easier for councils to buy some of that supply. There are already a number of councils, especially London boroughs, that are just buying some of their council housing supply off the open market, which I find quite surprising that that’s financially viable, but it is,” Ms Denyer says.
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According to a House of Commons Library report, as of October last year, there were 676,304 empty homes in England but, of these, only 248,149 were classed as long-term empty, meaning they had been vacant for six months or more.
The party would make this easier not by giving councils a discount, but by giving them first right of refusal on certain types of properties entering the market. This would include long-term empty homes. Ms Denyer says the party would make an exception for homes empty while they are stuck in probate.
“Also if there is a private landlord that’s exiting the market, then we will give councils first right of refusal on that. It’s recognising that while there is a housing shortage, there’s also a lot of housing that has gone from the public sector into the private sector through the Right to Buy, which we would also end,” she says.
Funding for councils
The Greens would like to see a higher proportion of social – rather than ‘affordable’ – homes mandated in the planning system, but would leave it up to individual councils to set those levels on developments. “If the developers are unwilling to meet this percentage, they should have the powers to step in and compulsorily purchase the site,” Ms Denyer says.
The Green Party would also see more funding go to councils. Local authorities across the country are facing significant financial pressures, particularly around temporary accommodation, with several effectively declaring themselves bankrupt.
And, of course, the party is focused on environmental policies. It would see a £145bn investment in retrofitting homes over 10 years. This would sit alongside grants for those on the lowest incomes and government-backed property-linked loans.
“It’s property-linked finance. So that means that it doesn’t matter if you don’t pay it off before you move out because the loan stays attached to the home rather than to the person. We estimate that it would, on average, save people £400 to £500 a year on their energy bills, so it would be affordable.”
The scheme is similar to the Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition’s failed Green Deal policy. However, Ms Denyer says: “We envisage an additional £145bn over 10 years in support for householders. This would create a completely different context for property-linked finance than exists under the limited funding available under the current government.”
What about if the landlord still refuses? The private tenant could ask the council to do the work as part of its retrofit programme, Ms Denyer says.
The Greens would like to see rent controls introduced to the PRS, not as a top-down policy but one councils could install if and how they see fit. Is the party concerned about a potential exodus of landlords as a result?
Ms Denyer points to the policy of giving councils first right of refusal to buy up those homes if landlords did leave the market.
But she adds: “I don’t think it would for most landlords. I honestly think that is a threat used by some in the landlord sector to resist regulation.”
Inside Housing political interviews
In the first week of June, we ran a number of political interviews, with politics high on the agenda in the lead-up to the general election and following the recent mayoral elections. Below is a list of articles published:
Liberal Democrats – we want to build 150,000 social homes a year
The Lib Dems back Build Social – and want to build even more social homes. Stephen Delahunty talks to Helen Morgan, the party’s housing spokesperson
Greens call for new role for councils in buying empty and ex-PRS homes
Green Party leader Carla Denyer talks to Grainne Cuffe about how the party proposes to tackle the housing crisis, while focusing on empty homes and added purchasing power for councils
The North East’s new mayor sets out her ambitions for social housing
Labour’s Kim McGuinness was elected as the first-ever mayor of the North East in May, and social housing is top of her agenda. Martin Hilditch finds out what she is calling for from housing associations, councils and her own party
Wales’ 20,000 social rent target will ‘be touch and go, but we’ll still make it’ – minister
Can the Welsh Labour government make good on its pledge to build 20,000 social homes by mid-2026? Jenny Messenger talks to Julie James, the Welsh government’s cabinet secretary for housing, local government and planning
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