New local housing deals should be given to every area in England by 2025 in order to spark a ‘generational step-change’ in council housebuilding, the Local Government Association (LGA) has said.
Outgoing LGA chairman Cllr James Jamieson said that ‘addressing the chronic housing shortage must be a national priority’ and called on the Government to implement a six-point plan for affordable housing.
The LGA said that the plan could, over time, support the delivery of more than 100 additional council homes a year in every English local authority.
The plan includes setting up a national council housebuilding delivery taskforce. It also calls for councils to have continued access to preferential borrowing rates through the public works loans board.
It involves reformation of the right to buy scheme, including allowing councils to retain 100% of receipts on a permanent basis; flexibility to combine right to buy receipts with other government grants; the ability to set the size of discounts locally; and the ability to recycle a greater proportion of receipts into building replacement homes paying off housing debt.
The plan also calls for the Government to review, and increase where needed, the grant levels per home through the affordable homes programme and commit to a minimum 10-year rent deal for council landlords.
Cllr Jamieson said: ‘Housing is too often unavailable, unaffordable, and is not appropriate for everyone that needs it. The right homes in the right areas can have significant wider benefits for people and communities and prevent future public service challenges and costs.
‘A genuine renaissance in council housebuilding would unlock local government’s historic role as a major builder of affordable homes, which support strong and healthy communities and help to build prosperous places.’
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