Shapps outlines house building plans
Housing minister Grant Shapps has unveiled a range of measures to help get more homes built.
Shapps said he has identified enough government land to build 80,000 homes, and is now working with organisations including the BBC and Royal Mail to find even more unused sites for housebuilding. He says this means the government is on course to release enough land for 100,000 homes by 2015.
In addition, a NewBuy Guarantee scheme will be launched in March to help those aspiring to buy newly-built properties to do so with only a 5% deposit.
Power is also to be devolved from Whitehall to town halls, ending a long-standing "tax on tenants" in a £19 billion deal enabling councils to keep the rents they collect and invest the money in their homes.
Shapps said: "The pattern of the past has been to produce endless policies and initiatives that simply gather dust on Whitehall shelves and lead to inaction and inertia. But with the Prime Minister putting housing centre stage on the road to economic recovery, I am determined that we shall not repeat these mistakes of the past.
"That's why I'm pulling out all the stops for those who want to get on the property ladder, so from March the NewBuy Guarantee scheme will be on hand to help people buying newly built properties with just a fraction of the deposit they would normally need.
"It's also why I am working across Whitehall to ensure we release enough public land for 100,000 new homes by 2015. But I'm looking beyond Westminster and want to see organisations like the BBC, Royal Mail and Network Rail also follow our lead.
"And for those languishing on council waiting lists, my message is clear: we are doing all we can to bring your wait to an end. That's why I'm laying the final foundations for a £19 billion deal that will end the 'tenants tax' and give councils the freedom they need to build more homes in their area."
NewBuy Guarantee
In March the NewBuy Guarantee scheme is to be launched, which brings lenders, builders and government together to offer mortgages on new-build properties. Borrowers will only need to find a 5% deposit.
This is a development from the New Build Indemnity Scheme announced in the government’s Housing Strategy last November. The original scheme was only for first-time buyers but is now open to home movers too on new build houses and flats up to £500,000.
Land for house-building
Shapps also confirmed that he is working with nine government departments and organisations including the BBC, Network Rail and the Royal Mail to identify unused land and buildings that could be released for house-building. He says this supports his key priority to build the homes this country needs.
The Ministry of Justice, HM Treasury, the Home Office, the Department for Energy and Climate Change, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport will also look at their land holdings.
To unlock sites for house building blighted by poor infrastructure, Shapps announced the allocation of the £500 million Growing Places Fund - launched three months ago - to 39 Local Enterprise Partnerships across the country, helping to create thousands of jobs in construction and related industries.
This is on top of the £432 million in cash bonuses that Shapps has confirmed for 353 councils that have built new homes or have brought back into use empty properties - including a £21 million premium for new affordable homes.
This is the second instalment of the New Homes Bonus, in recognition of communities delivering 159,000 homes in their local area.
The minister also confirmed that he will allocate £45 million funding to help unlock 18 of the most difficult stalled sites in the country to get workers back on site and 1,301 homes built.
The funding forms part of the £420 million Get Britain Building fund. Launched less than two months ago, Shapps says this cash injection is expected to unlock up to 16,000 homes on sites that are currently stalled, and help create up to 30,000 jobs in construction and related industries.
Ending the tax on tenants
Shapps also announced details for "ending the tax on tenants", finalising a £19 billion deal that will release councils from a centralised social rent system.
The minister said that for years, councils have been captives of a centralised system, surrendering their social rents to the government to decide how best to redistribute it. This meant that the majority of councils lost millions in social rent - in some cases over half of what they collected.
Shapps confirmed that councils will be allowed to keep the rents they collect, giving them an average 15 per cent more to spend on managing and maintaining their homes.
Strengthening protection for leaseholders
The Minister also confirmed proposals to bring "outdated" protections for leaseholders back in line with changing property prices.
Shapps proposes to raise the £25,000 "value limit" - or notional annual rental value - outpaced by house price inflation since it was set in 1990 - to £100,000, enabling many leaseholders to stay in their home when their lease comes to an end.
