In a speech in London, Housing Minister Grant Shapps gave a progress report on the government’s housing strategy, published last November.
Three months into the strategy and six weeks before the budget, Shapps reported:
- £45 million has been allocated to 18 publicly owned sites under the Get Britain Building fund (a £420 million fund to get development started on stalled sites that have planning permission and are otherwise “shovel ready”). Final bids for the rest of the funding will be considered next month.
- Freeing up public sector land – The strategy set a target to free up sufficient public land for 100,000 homes by 2015. Government land has already been identified to release for over 80,000 new homes. and talks are underway with government departments and public bodies to identify the remaining land.
- Confirmation of the New Homes Bonus allocations for 2012-13 of over £430m, that were released in draft last December.
- Confirmation that the NewBuy Guarantee (a new build indemnity scheme announced last November) would be open to UK citizens buying on new build houses and flats up to £500,000 as their main home – whether they are first time buyers or moving up the ladder from March 2012.
Shapps also referred in his speech to the Government moves to increase Right to Buy discounts, reiterating the prime minister’s promised that a new home will be built for every home sold. He also welcomed the ending of the current housing revenue account subsidy scheme from
April this year, referring to the old system as a ‘Tenants Tax’.
The DCLG has confirmed that it will go ahead with its proposals to raise the £25,000 “value limit” – or notional annual rental value – to £100,000. This figure determines the eligibility of residential long leaseholders to stay in their home when their lease comes to an end. Subject to Parliamentary approval, the changes will come into force from April 2014.