Minister’s plan to drive down prices in property hotspots

‘Affordability test’ could force councils to approve thousands of new homes

A DRIVE to bring down property prices in wealthy areas could see councils forced to approve the building of thousands of new homes.

The Communities Secretary is understood to want local authorities to face tough new building targets if prices in their areas are too high.

Under Sajid Javid’s plans, they would be told to take the affordability of local homes into account when deciding how many new houses are needed in their area.

Every authority would have to calculate how easy it is for young people to get on the housing ladder by working out the local salary-to-house price ratio.

Those with a ratio deemed too high would then be told to build thousands more homes. Mr Javid hopes that market forces would then see the greater supply of homes bringing down prices.

The average property price in Britain is now £212,000, which is 7.8 times the typical salary.

In some areas of the South East, the ratio is more than 12 times average wages.

The plan – which was not denied yesterday by Downing Street – could be controversial among Conservative backbenchers.

It risks a backlash in solid Tory areas as owners panic about their own homes losing value.

But a senior source called it a ‘ transparent test to increase supply’. The insider told The Sun: ‘For once, councils won’t be able to fudge it – and that is key.’

Ministers are said to want up to 300,000 homes a year to be built to keep up with soaring population levels and Mr Javid has blasted councils for not doing enough.

Three weeks ago, he branded the refusal by councils to increase building targets as ‘not good enough’ and declared that ‘the era of tolerating such poor, patchy performance is over’. The Minister has warned colleagues that if wealthy areas – such as Theresa May’s constituency of Maidenhead in Berkshire – refuse to build extra homes, they will drive more young voters who cannot afford to buy into the arms of Jeremy Corbyn.

Government officials said at the weekend that Mr Javid will target councils accused of ‘lying’ about the scale of housing needs in their area in a bid to avoid having to build new homes.

One official told The Mail on Sunday: ‘From now on, these council leaders, who include many Conservatives who should know better, are going to have to start telling the truth.

‘We are not prepared for them to lie about the housing crisis to protect Nimbys [Not In My Backyard] who have had too much sway for too long.

‘They are going to have to adjust to the idea that everyone has a right to a roof over their head in this green and pleasant land, not just a privileged few.

‘Owning your own home is a fundamental part of being a Conservative. If a whole generation of young people cannot afford to do that, we can’t complain if they vote Labour.’

Last night a spokesman for Number 10 said: ‘We are committed to fixing the dysfunctional housing market and have acknowledged the need to build more decent affordable housing.

‘Steps to fix it include making more land available and helping local areas plan for the right homes in the right places.

‘We will launch a consultation soon seeking the views of local authorities on that.’

‘They won’t be able to fudge it’