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UKREiiF: Salford mayor ‘worried’ about housing associations due to lack of guidance on LHA
Paul Dennett said he was “very worried” about housing associations due to a lack of certainty from the UK government over the future of the Local Housing Allowance (LHA).
Speaking at the annual UK’s Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF) conference on Wednesday, Mr Dennett said: “At the moment, we have no certainty of what government is going to do on the Local Housing Allowance.
“They’ve upgraded it for one year. If they don’t continue that journey, we’re going to be evicting social tenants from social housing, because they won’t be able to afford to pay the rent and the associated service charges,” he said.
The panel was discussing ‘estate renewal in the new era of regeneration and housing delivery’.
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The Salford City Council mayor added that additional regulatory requirements and standards were also going to cost housing associations.
“Where are the resources coming from? The government this year chose not to meddle on what happens with rent, but the previous year they made sure there was a ceiling put in place over which they couldn’t go,” he said.
“We mustn’t underestimate that the solutions are found in Westminster and White Hall relinquishing control, giving us the resources, and allowing us to get on with what we do best, which is making things happen.”
In this month’s local elections, Mr Dennett won a third term in Salford. He said his housing strategy was guided by increasing the number of new and affordable homes, including through Dérive, Salford City Council’s wholly owned development company.
On the same panel, Shahi Islam, director of affordable housing at Homes England, faced questions about the future of the Affordable Homes Programme.
“How does anybody know what’s going to happen after [the end of the current programme] without that long-term understanding of what the investment will be from government in regeneration? We can’t have the confidence, and neither can private investors,” said Rachael Dennis, chief executive of Incommunities, the Yorkshire-based social landlord.
“I’ve been working on the Affordable Homes Programme for 11 years, and one thing I always requested has been a 10-year programme,” said Mr Islam, pointing out that the programme had grown incrementally from two years to five. “We are seeing change coming.”
Answering a question from a representative of the Save Construction Initiative on whether there needs to be more realism over how much money is needed to actually build homes, Mr Islam said one of his priorities was to make sure grant “adds value to the construction industry”.
On modern methods of construction (MMC), Mr Islam added that while there had been some “big failures” in the sector, “there’s still will and ambition to support [MMC]”.
The panel was speaking moments before the prime minister announced the next general election.
Rishi Sunak set a date for 4 July yesterday, and senior figures from across the sector have since called for housing to be front and centre in party campaigns.
