Labour manifesto: Social housing pledges and an end to office-to-resi PDR

Labour today unveiled plans to boost social housing, end office-to-residential permitted development and support first-time buyers with a reformed Help to Buy. A raft of promises in the 2019 manifesto seek to boost genuinely affordable homes with the introduction of new tenures, a public land trust and new responsibilities for Homes England. For developers this means new taxes on overseas buyers and second homes, rent controls and a “use it or lose it” threat for stalled sites. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: “Housing should be for the many, not a speculation opportunity for dodgy landlords and the wealthy few. “I am determined to create a society where working class communities and young people have access to affordable, good quality council and social homes.” Council housebuilding The manifesto promised “the biggest council housebuilding programme in over a decade”, with a plan for more than 1m social and council homes. Labour said it would seek to ramp up annual social and council housing delivery to some 150,000 homes within five years, with 100,000 built by local authorities for social housing and the remainder from housing associations. It will do this with a £75bn budget, taking half of the party’s Social Transformation Fund. The party vowed to scrap the 80% discount market rent tenure of affordable rent and replace this with local income-linked pricing. Labour said it would create a new department for housing and “make Homes England a more accountable national housing agency and put councils in the driving seat”. The party has proposed a new English Sovereign Land Trust to buy public land at lower prices for affordable homes. It said it will end Right to Buy and conversions of social rented homes to affordable rent (DMR). The manifesto also outlined plans to give councils the powers and funding to buy back homes from private landlords and regulate short-let Airbnb-style homes. In a bid to alleviate homelessness, Corbyn said the party would deliver 8,000 homes for people with a history of homelessness and earmark £1bn a year for local authority homelessness services. Home ownership vs rental support Labour plans to support first-time buyers on ordinary incomes with a reform of Help to Buy. The manifesto proposed a levy on overseas companies buying housing, giving local people priority to buy new homes. It said it would abolish unfair leaseholder fees and give leaseholders the right to buy their freeholds at affordable prices. On the rental front, the party said it would take urgent action to implement rent controls and open-ended tenancies, capping “runaway rents” by inflation with cities able to implement further caps. The party said it supported the abolishment of section 21 “no-fault” evictions and also vowed to enforce tougher sanctions for rogue landlords. Labour said it would fund new renters union across the country. Development The manifesto said: “Developers will face new ‘use it or lose it’ taxes on stalled housing developments.” It proposed a national levy on second homes used as holiday homes. Labour vowed to end office-to-residential conversions through permitted development rights. It also promises to deliver greater transparency of Land Registry ownership records. The manifesto proposed a £1bn fire safety fund to fit sprinklers and other fire safety measures in all high-rise council and housing association buildings, while also enforcing the replacement of Grenfell-style cladding. The other parties Labour’s plans followed the release of the Green Party and Liberal Democrat manifestos earlier this week. The New Green Deal outlined plans for 100,000 new social rent homes a year which use 90% less energy and secure lifetime tenancies. The party said it planned to improve home insulation, reduce heating bills and make energy efficiency and fuel poverty a national infrastructure priority. Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrat manifesto began with its vow to stop Brexit. New housing initiatives echoed plans to deliver 100,000 social rent homes a year, with plans to drive total housing delivery to 300,000. The manifesto said it would devolve Right to Buy powers to local councils. The Conservative Party manifesto is expected to be released two weeks before the General Election on 12 December. Housing secretary Robert Jenrick said a Conservative government would deliver 1m homes by 2025, equating to 200,000 homes a year, a downgrade from a current target of 300,000. It also vowed to end “no-fault” evictions and proposed 30% discounts for first-time buyers in their own neighbourhoods, as well as long-term fixed-rate mortgages requiring 5% deposits. To send feedback, e-mail emma.rosser@egi.co.uk or tweet @EmmaARosser or @estatesgazette