Bold housing plans could revolutionise UK property market

LABOUR’S Jeremy Corbyn is to set out plans to build a million “genuinely affordable” homes as he puts the nation’s housing crisis at the top of the party’s agenda.

The radical plans also include a new form of social housing for people who currently wouldn’t qualify for a council house.

Called “living rent homes”, these will be aimed at low-to-middle income families, key workers and younger people. Rents will be set at no more than a third of average local household incomes.

They will cost more to rent that existing social housing from a council or housing association, but they will provide an alternative for people who would otherwise be forced to depend on private rents.

Labour will also introduce “low-cost ownership homes” for first-time buyers, sold at a discount so that mortgage payments are no more than a third of average local household incomes.

Nick Forbes, leader of Newcastle City Council and Labour group leader on the Local Government Association, helped draw up the plans.

He said: “This is a bold, ambitious and radical set of proposals to build the affordable homes our country desperately needs.

“Local authorities are keen to be part of the solution, but current Government policies hold us back from doing more.

“These plans would set us free to deliver for our communities, creating thousands of new jobs and give everyone who needs a home hope for the future.”

The housing crisis is sometimes seen as a problem which particularly affects London and the south east, but a report from the National Housing Association revealed that it is also an issue in the North East.

While overall house prices in the region are lower than the national average at £157,512, homes still cost more than six times the average income.

This is partly because average annual earnings are little more than £25,000 in the region, which is lower than the national average.

And an ageing population is putting pressure on the need for specialist and supported housing: the number of people over 65 is expected to increase by 48% between 2014 and 2039, from 491,000 to 727,000.

There were 1,334 households accepted as homeless in Newcastle in 2016-17, with 141 in temporary accommodation, according to official figures.

Figures obtained through Freedom of Information requests showed the overall bill for temporary accommodation in Newcastle, including B&Bs, was £959,700 in 2016/17, down from £1m in 2015/16.

The cost for housing homeless families in 2016/17 was £247,800 in Northumberland, £46,966 in South Tyneside, £27,030 in Sunderland, £24,188 in Gateshead, and £18,729 in Durham. North Tyneside did not provide all the requested information.

Labour says its plans also include redefining “affordable housing”. At the moment, rent is said to be affordable if it is at to 80% of market rents. Under Labour, whether housing is considered to be affordable will depend on how costs compare to incomes.

Councils will have legal “duty to deliver” affordable housing, along with and central funding to get councils and housing associations building.

And there will be a fully-fledged new Department for Housing as part of the Government.

Mr Corbyn said: “When housing has become a site of speculation for a wealthy few, leaving the many unable to access a decent, secure home, something has gone seriously wrong.

“Luxury flats proliferate across our big cities, while social housing is starved of investment and too many people are living in dangerous accommodation at the mercy of rogue landlords.

“We need to restore the principle that a decent home is a right owed to all, not a privilege for the few. And the only way to deliver on that right for everyone, regardless of income, is through social housing.”