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Boris Johnson considers focus on homeownership
New prime minister Boris Johnson is weighing up a new part-rent, part-buy housing tenure, Inside Housing can reveal, in a switch that could see a move away from social rent.
Two sources with knowledge of Mr Johnson’s plans have told Inside Housing that the new prime minister is considering channelling funding to the part-buy, part-rent plan.
The sources said that while they did not have any further details on what the new product might look like, it would be part of a greater focus by Mr Johnson on homeownership.
Both sources indicated that Boris Johnson could look at moving away from social rent. This tenure is set to a complex formula but is typically 50-60% of market rents.
It differs from affordable rent, which is 80% of market rent.
Outside London, the government funds English affordable housing with grant, through Homes England.
In 2018/19, Homes England grant funded 30,563 affordable housing starts – 1,231 were for social rent, while 17,772 were for affordable rent.
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Theresa May’s premiership saw the Conservative Party make a dramatic return to social rented housing, providing public money for this tenure for the first time since 2010.
In her final speech to the UK social housing sector last month, Ms May said that social housing has been “a victim of the single-minded drive for homeownership”.
The coalition and subsequent Conservative government under David Cameron and George Osborne had cut all funding for social rented housing.
The proposed policy would not forbid social landlords from building homes for social rent but they would have to self fund. Any move would not affect London, where grant funding is administered by City Hall.
Although the specific proposals Mr Johnson is considering remain unclear, a part-rent, part-buy tenure has been previously proposed in various guises.
In 2011, Sunderland-based housing association Gentoo set up a scheme called Genie Home Purchase, with then-London mayor Mr Johnson promising it £40m to expand the programme to the capital.
At the time, Mr Johnson said: “Plans like this provide more accessibility and flexibility for purchasers who may struggle to save large deposits and my funding will help accelerate the delivery of much-needed new homes across London,” said Mr Johnson.
This would have allowed renters without a deposit or mortgage to buy shares in their home every time they made a monthly payment but was scrapped in 2016 after failing to attract investment.
Mr Johnson, who has been firm in saying that the UK will leave the EU on 31 October with or without a deal, has also been working closely with Sir Ed Lister, chair of Homes England.
It has been widely reported that Sir Ed, who took a leave of absence to work on Mr Johnson’s leadership campaign, will take over as Mr Johnson’s chief of staff.
The government announced last night that Robert Jenrick is the new housing secretary and Esther McVey minister of state at the MHCLG .
