You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
The Queen’s Speech: what legislation is coming for the social housing sector?
In a speech to parliament today the Queen set out the government’s priorities for the coming year. Dominic Brady looks at the policies that will impact the social housing sector
In her 67th state opening of parliament, the Queen listed a number of policies and measures that will have a direct impact on social housing providers.
Many proposals were expected, such as the Building Safety Bill and the Planning Bill. But for many in the social housing sector, the speech will be defined by its omissions as much as what was included.
Social Housing White Paper
Conspicuous by its absence was any firm commitment to a social housing bill.
The documents that set out the detail of the government’s plans for the year said: “We will continue to deliver on the Social Housing White Paper proposals, including implementing the Charter for Social Housing Residents, delivering transformational change for social renters.”
The document added: “We will also continue to develop reform of social housing regulations and look to legislate as soon as practicable.”
The lack of timeline attached to the promise was met with consternation by bereaved and survivors group Grenfell United. The group expressed its bitter disappointment at the prospect of a further delay to the introduction of widespread protections for social housing tenants, nearly four years on from the tragedy.
“We have been deeply let down by the government excluding the Social Housing White Paper from the Queen’s Speech,” the group said.
The government said it has already launched a review of the Decent Homes Standard, a working group on electrical safety, and held a consultation on smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. But nearly three years have passed since the Social Housing Green Paper was introduced and Grenfell United condemned the government’s slow progress on bringing forward the legislation.
READ MORE
Building Safety Bill
There was, however, a commitment to post-Grenfell legislation in the form of the Building Safety Bill, which the government previously deemed “the biggest improvements to building safety in nearly 40 years”.
Speaking in parliament, the Queen said: “My ministers will establish in law a new Building Safety Regulator to ensure that the tragedies of the past are never repeated.”
The bill, which will implement recommendations from the Hackitt Review, is expected to categorise a further 13,000 buildings as higher risk and will legislate for the introduction of the new Building Safety Regulator.
Work has already begun on the launch of the regulator, with the Health and Safety Executive’s Peter Baker selected to run the organisation and former Hyde Housing chief executive Elaine Bailey being appointed to its board.
Also included in the bill are proposals to introduce a system of accountable persons and dutyholders, responsible for making buildings safe and the creation of a New Homes Ombudsman. The new ombudsman will aim to simplify the process to log complaints to the Housing Ombudsman for social housing tenants.
Planning Bill
A notable aspect of the speech for social landlords was the confirmation of the government’s radical overhaul of the planning system, announced last year.
The planning bill, aimed at simplifying and speeding up the planning system, will have significant implications for affordable housing providers. This is due to proposals within the bill to scrap Section 106 agreements and the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and replace them with a flat rate Infrastructure Levy.
Social housing providers previously raised concerns that scrapping Section 106 – which accounted for 49% of all affordable homes in 2018/19 – could limit the supply of new affordable housing.
The in-depth document published alongside the Queen’s Speech reiterated the government’s argument that the current system does not lead to enough homes being built. The government expects that the overhaul will help it reach its goal of 300,000 new homes annually by the middle of the decade.
Fiona Howie, chief executive of the Town and Country Planning Association, lamented the government’s focus simply on housing numbers. She added: “If we are truly committed to building back better, we need the built environment to support communities to thrive, and the government must recognise that homes cannot be delivered in isolation from the other elements that are key to complete, healthy and sustainable places.”
Renters’ reforms
The Queen’s Speech also contained a commitment to help more people own their own home while enhancing renters’ rights.
Central to reforms in the private rented sector is the idea of scrapping Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions – first announced by former prime minister Theresa May in April 2019. Documents published today show that the government has vowed to publish its consultation response to the proposal “later this year”.
The government also said it will bring forward reforms to “drive improvements in standards in rented accommodation, including by ensuring all tenants have a right to redress, and ensuring well targeted, effective enforcement that drives out criminal landlords, for example exploring the merits of a landlord register”.
Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said that the Queen’s Speech “offers hope to England’s 20 million private and social renters”.
She added: “We stand ready to work with the government to deliver a Renters’ Reform Bill that includes scrapping Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions and introduces a national landlord register. It’s also time to bring forward long-overdue legislation that improves standards for social tenants with safety at its core.”
Social care
Despite declaring that the government has a plan to fix social care “once and for all” upon winning the 2019 election, Boris Johnson has been criticised for inaction in this area.
The Queen told parliament that the government will bring forward its proposals for social care this year but James Jamieson, chair of the Local Government Association, said: “It is vital that this is also urgently converted into concrete funding proposals” to support the sector.
Michael Voges, executive director of the Associated Retirement Community Operators (ARCO), argued that housing-with-care is an “oven-ready” solution to address social care challenges and urged the government to recognise the role it can play in “driving a supply-side revolution based on the success of the sector during the pandemic”.
Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill
Under plans outlined in the Queen’s Speech, leaseholders in England will be given the right to extend their leases by up to 990 years at zero ground rent.
The government said that its Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill will “ensure leaseholders of new, long residential leases cannot be charged a financial ground rent for no tangible service”.
Plans to tackle leaseholder exploitation relating to ground rents were announced in 2017 after an investigation by The Guardian found that some developers were doubling ground rent every 10 years.
The proposals, announced in January 2021, were met with backlash by retirement housing developers, which expressed their disappointment that they would not be exempt from the legislation.
Sign up for the IH long read bulletin
Already have an account? Click here to manage your newsletters
