09 Sep 24
If anyone thinks Angela Rayner spent the whole summer boogying on Ibiza, think again.
She and her team, and perhaps most of all their civil servants, were hard at it in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government preparing for what can only be called a tsunami of consultations and proposals coming our way very soon.
If you want evidence, check out the comments made by Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook at the first Housing Questions of the new session of Parliament this week.In answer to one MP’s question about evictions he said: “Our Renters’ Rights Bill will protect tenants from arbitrary eviction and empower them to challenge unreasonable within-tenancy rent rises. I can assure my honourable friend …. will not have long to wait for that Bill’s introduction.”
Boost the supply
And how about this in response to a question about the damage Right To Buy has had on social housing stock: “The Government have started to review the increased right to buy discounts introduced in 2012, as we promised to do in our manifesto. We will lay secondary legislation in the autumn and consult on wider reforms. We recognise the importance of right to buy as a route to home ownership for tenants, but we must, as my hon. Friend makes clear, protect our existing stock and boost the supply of new social rented homes.”
Then about the issues faced by some residential freeholders. “As we set out in our manifesto, the Government are committed to bringing the injustice of ‘fleecehold’ private housing estates and unfair maintenance costs to an end. We intend to consult publicly on the best way to achieve that. In the interim, we will move to implement the new protections against unfair charges that were contained in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024.”
And those answers were aside from the many about the National Planning Policy Framework, a starkly revised version of which the government got out before the recess – the consultation on this is already underway.
In other words, this government means business – and fast.
May have an impact
Reform is the name of the game. In addition to the above (that is, reform of planning, Right To Buy, leasehold and the private rental sector) expect reforms on:
– Energy efficiency targets that will affect not just landlords but house builders too;
- Compulsory Purchase Orders, which may have an impact on long-term empty homes;
- Changes to Planning Committee powers to stop long-term serial obstruction of development;
- English Mayors given stronger powers over housing targets and planning processes within their patches.
So while many headlines are concerned about Capital Gains Tax and Inheritance Tax, the bigger issues for the housing industry will actually be in these other Bills, consultations and devolved powers.
It will be a fascinating period between now and Christmas to see so many changes outlined by politicians, and industry organisations and figures having to produce considered responses to them. After years of dither and indecision from the Conservatives, Labour wants to make an impression, and to get results by 2029 that means starting the reform process now.
So buckle up: there’s going to be no time for dancing this autumn.
