Housing secretary Robert Jenrick has announced extensions to controversial permitted development rights and a new initiative giving tenants the right to buy under shared ownership, in a raft of new measures to drive housing delivery and ownership.
At the Conservative Party Conference yesterday Jenrick emphasised the government’s priority to enable home ownership, while support for renters and the institutional build-to-rent sector was notably missing.
He said: “For we Conservatives, helping people to own a home has always been at the heart of our moral mission.”
Right to buy under shared ownership
Jenrick unveiled plans to offer up to 2.6m housing association tenants the right to shared ownership of their homes. He said tenants would be given the automatic right to buy a share of their home, starting with as little as 10%, with the ability to increase this to full ownership.
Jenrick said the policy would be available on all new properties, but said housing association participation would be on a voluntary basis.
Kate Henderson, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, said: “We are concerned that these proposals could make it harder for housing associations to build new social rent homes.”
She added that the announcement could also affect existing loans and the sector’s ability to borrow in the future. “Lenders to the social housing sector view and value shared ownership homes differently to social rent homes … Any new government policy must not undermine the ability of housing associations to raise the vital funds needed to build new social rent homes, particularly at this time of already considerable uncertainty.”
PD extension and planning reform
The housing minister said the government will reform the “outdated, contradictory planning system”.
Jenrick said: “I’m announcing new freedoms, including to build upward so that your home can grow as your family does too. Reducing, conditions, speeding up consent. Better funded local planning in return for efficient service.”
The new planning rules will be available under an extension to permitted development rights, however the details have not yet been published by the ministry of housing, communities and local government.
There were reports of a paid fast-track planning service for big developers and the introduction of a “permission in principle” to allow developers to convert “unsightly” commercial properties into residential, without detailed planning permission.
Stuart Baillie, head of planning at Knight Frank, said: “Though any measures to speed up decisions are welcome, any fees need to be considered alongside contributions developers already make to ensure development remains viable.”
Baillie welcomed the “permission in principle” proposals. But, he added: “More detail is required to understand what and where conversions of commercial properties will be acceptable particularly with increasing pressure to protect industrial floorspace in the South East and balancing the need for vibrant high streets with the need for more homes.”
National building design guide
Jenrick also promised a new national building design guide for local authorities to aid planning application decisions and resident engagement.
The national guide will include a focus on “tree-lined streets and green infrastructure” and local authorities will have the option to design their own versions.
Jenrick said: “There will be a national standard for local authorities to adhere to, but we recognise that what good looks like differs across England. So, for the first time local authorities will be expected to design their own locally application guides in keeping with the national standard, which must deliver the quality of homes that we expect.”
Ian Fletcher, director of policy at the British Property Federation, said planning departments “have seen some of the most severe cuts of any local authority service” and stressed the need for additional resources.
He added that was “cautious about the further expansion of permitted development rights”.
Fletcher said: “At a time when the industry is prioritising community engagement and increasing transparency, allowing significant alterations to properties without formal engagement could alienate the communities we need to be supporting.”
