With housing firmly established as a political chess piece, its prominence in yesterday's joint Spending Review and Autumn Statement comes as no surprise. The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a £6.9bn housebuilding programme comprising:

  • £4bn to build 135,000 shared ownership homes for households earning below £80,000 in the regions or £90,000 in London;
  • £2.3bn to deliver 200,000 starter homes where first time buyers will receive a 20% discount on homes of up to £450,000 in London and £250,000 in the regions;
  • £200m to deliver 10,000 new homes where tenants can live at a reduced rate for 5 years while they save for a deposit; and
  • £400m to build 8,000 specialist homes for the elderly or disabled.

Starter Homes featured heavily at the Conservative Party Conference and in the Housing & Planning Bill, while measures to assist renters saving for a deposit formed part of the 2015 Conservative Party Manifesto.  The £4bn fund to build 135,000 shared ownership homes and the £400m set aside to build specialist homes for the elderly or disabled are new ideas.

Additional measures include:

  • The relaxation of the rules around shared ownership to reach a wider audience;
  • The extension of the government's Right to Buy programme to housing association tenants, initially only as a trial involving 5 specific housing associations;
  • A 3% surcharge on stamp duty for second homes and buy to let properties;
  • The extension of Help to Buy to 2021 as opposed to 2020 as previously intended;
  • The extension of Help to Buy in London, with those who have saved a 5% deposit given a loan for up to 40% of the total property value;
  • Further reforms to the planning system, including establishing a new delivery test on local authorities, to ensure delivery against the number of homes set out in Local Plans;
  • Enabling local communities to allocate land for housing through neighbourhood plans, even if that land is not allocated in the Local Plan;
  • Allowing brownfield sites in the Green Belt to be developed in the same way as other brownfield land, providing it contributes to Starter Homes, and subject to local consultation;
  • Releasing public sector land for up to 160,000 homes;
  • Backing SME house builders, including by amending planning policy to support small sites, extending the £1bn Builders' Finance Fund to 2020 – 2021, and halving the length of the planning guarantee for minor developments;
  • Investing £310 million to deliver the first new garden city in nearly 100 years, at Ebbsfleet; and
  • The reclassification of Housing Associations as public bodies and housing association debt as public debt.

The Government is clearly committed to extending home ownership, which appears to eclipse further incentives to develop Built to Rent (B2R) homes. Seen as a long-term housing solution in much of Europe, B2R has gathered pace in the UK partly due to the Government's B2R fund, increased investor appetite and the strong performance by pioneers in the sector. However, the Autumn Statement reiterates the Government's preference for shared ownership and Starter Homes for those unable to purchase homes at the market rate.

B2R is recognised as a significant option for addressing the housing crisis particularly in London, due to its large transient population and the cost of housing, particularly for the younger generation that is attracted to work in the capital.  We will see whether the London Plan review in 2016 results in further policy support for B2R.

The Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 was presented to Parliament by the Chancellor of the Exchequer by Command of Her Majesty on 25 November 2015 and can be viewed here.

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