First-Time Buyers, High Streets, Empty Homes and Homelessness Targeted in New Reforms

This week has seen Prime Minister Andy Burnham speaking at the Labour Party Conference about the importance of a good home, alongside the unveiling of a raft of measures with the aim of making sure more people can access a good quality home they can afford. The announcements are part of a programme to get the housing market moving and bring vacant properties back into use.

Chief Executive of the Northern Housing Consortium Tracy Harrison said:

“The social housing sector in the North stands ready to make the Prime Minister’s vision a reality. We are well placed to build on the devolution agenda with established Mayoral Strategic Authorities and Housing Partnerships bringing together councils and housing associations with the Mayors’ teams to deliver more homes, better places, and unlock jobs and better health through working together.

“There have been some positive announcements this week on supporting first time buyers, bringing empty homes back into use and improving high streets. But to fully capitalise on this ambition in the North, regeneration funding, alongside funding for building new social homes, is needed to revitalise communities and address homes that no longer meet the needs of local people.

“Whilst we do need Councils building more homes, housing associations already have much of the infrastructure needed to quickly get to work building new homes and improving or replacing existing homes, bringing immediate benefits to communities. I would urge the Government to work with housing associations, alongside councils, to unlock this capacity. The well-established relationships and track record of partnership working in the North means we’re ready to deliver.”

First-time buyers

A new equity loan scheme is being developed, with full details expected in next month’s Budget. Initial information from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government includes:

A government-backed equity loan worth 20% of the property value, with an initial interest-free period.
Applicants must be first-time buyers with a minimum 2.5% deposit.
Household income and deposit caps will apply.
The scheme will be limited to new-build homes sold by participating developers.
Developers will contribute towards the cost of the scheme.

£210m for high streets

The Government will use previously allocated regeneration funding to support four high-street initiatives:

£125m Derelict Buildings Fund: enables local authorities to convert vacant properties, including former shopping centres and cinemas, into community facilities and health centres.
£65m to renovate valued community buildings at risk of closure, including pubs and sports clubs.
£10m for High Street Rental Auctions, helping to bring properties vacant for more than a year back into use.
£10m for the Co-operative Development Programme, supporting mayors and strategic authorities to establish local co-operative businesses.

The £210m package forms part of the Place Regeneration Taskforce’s wider programme, which includes developing a strategy for town centres across England.

Empty Dwelling Management Orders reforms

The Government has reformed Empty Dwelling Management Orders (EDMOs), which allow councils to manage empty homes and return them to use for up to seven years while ownership remains with the property owner.

The two main changes are:

A property now needs to have been empty for only six months before an EDMO can be issued, down from two years.
Councils no longer need evidence of anti-social behaviour at the property or community support for the order.

The Government is also considering further support for councils seeking to bring empty properties back into use.

Social Housing Bill to strengthen homelessness prevention and protect social housing stock

Amendments to the Social Housing Bill will strengthen protections for homeless households and help retain social housing.

Councils will be able to refer homeless households to registered social landlords, improving access to housing and reducing reliance on temporary accommodation.
The Bill will also introduce a new disposals notification requirement, which will give councils and other social housing providers a better opportunity to purchase social homes before they are sold outside the sector with a notification period of eight weeks.
A new Duty to Collaborate will require public services to identify and support people at risk of homelessness.
The measures complement the Government’s £39 billion, ten-year Social and Affordable Homes Programme.

Warm Homes funding to be devolved to mayors and councils

At the Labour Party conference, Energy Secretary, Miatta Fahnbulleh also announced the home energy upgrades scheme will be devolved to mayors, local government and communities – giving them the power to upgrade millions of homes.

The Secretary of State said that:

“The Government will devolve the warm homes plan, the biggest investment in home upgrade in British history.

“Instead of decisions being made in Whitehall, we will give mayors, local government and communities the power to invest millions of pounds in their place, to upgrade millions of homes, to renew estates, to train up young people for skilled jobs, to boost local businesses in their supply chain, to lift up their community.”

The Northern Housing Consortium has long called for devolution of this funding, to enable the people who know their communities best to have the power to decide what’s needed. We argued the case for this in our Warm Homes Green Jobs research and subsequent work with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. We’ve worked closely with our members and the department over recent years, including hosting roundtables and taking senior officials out to see how funding is working in the North.