Mechanisms to increase supply of one bed housing (Harborough District Council)

Housing Advisers Programme case study

2021/22 cohort 

There is a shortfall of one bed homes across Harborough District Council and across Leicestershire and Rutland. Over 47 per cent of the households on the Harborough Homes register require one bedroom homes, many under 55 years old. New supply of one bed homes is limited and continues to fall. Market rents are high and do not provide an affordable alternative.

There are many reasons behind this:

• Developer preferences for two bed and larger homes.
• An unwillingness to manage perceived over concentrations of one bed homes by RP partners.
• High estate and service charges.
• A failure to implement planning polices.

The project identified a series of measures which collectively could make an impact in the medium to long term. Measures identified included:

• Improvements to design to minimise service charges.
• Working with partners in a more proactive way.
• Full implementation of existing planning policies.
• Direct and indirect intervention.
• The political prioritisation of housing.
• Better leasing options.
• Flexible lettings policies and HMO’s.

All of these measures, whether new or existing, form a toolkit which if implemented will increase the supply of one bed homes – but no single measure will solve the problem.

Harborough District Council is a mainly rural district, with relatively high incomes (304 out of 316 for England). Harborough is also near the top of the IMD rankings at 308 out of 316. Except for Leicester as a large city, the remaining Districts also score in the highest 50 per cent in England.

The shortage of one bed homes has a direct impact on waiting lists and homelessness. New supply from RPs is also limited. Increasing Building Safety requirements tend to reduce supply. One bed homes make up only 6 per cent of all new developments, with developers preferring family homes as they are more straightforward and profitable.

Market rents for one bed homes have increased by 32 per cent over the last 10 years and are significantly above LHA rates, making them unaffordable for many.

People in housing need are therefore unable to access appropriate housing, which leads to larger waiting lists and an imbalance in the housing market.

As part of the project, ARK Consultancy Ltd undertook market research and stakeholder engagement. This involved:

• Detailed surveys to local authorities, RPs and developers operating across Leicestershire.
• Attending a Development Strategy Officers Group (DSOG) meeting.
• Researching planning policies and planning consents.
• Researching house prices, market rent and social rents across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.
• Researching service charges across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.
• Speaking to agents and developers.
• Researching good practice in the delivery of one bed homes.

The outcomes of the research were consolidated and presented to stakeholders at a workshop where there were substantial discussions regarding the undersupply of one bed homes, with attended sharing experiences and initiatives undertaken to help address this. All of these were consolidated into a toolkit for local authorities to address the undersupply of one bed homes over time.

Increasing the supply of any particular form of housing is a long-term objective.

Many of the causes of the undersupply, such as RPs and developers’ wariness of excessive concentrations of one bed homes and high service charges, stem from decisions taken a long time ago and will take time to change.

Other factors, such a high market rents, effectively fall outside of the remit of local authorities to deal with as that are market driven.

Nevertheless, the project has:

• Raised awareness of the issue.
• Brought a focus to potential interventions.
• Identified mechanisms that local authorities can use to address the issue.
• Highlighted some of the causes stem from previous decisions that could be avoided in the future.
• Clarified housing need.
• Identified further areas of research.

The difference made will ultimately only be evident over time, however in the shirt to medium term success can be measured by:

• Reduced waiting lists.
• An increase in planning consents for one bed homes.
• Adoption of the measures identified.

The next steps are to roll out the toolkit to partner local authorities and to identify which measures can be adopted over the short and medium terms.

The project will be sustained by the Development Strategy Officers Group, which meet regularly to share best practice in strategic housing and identify areas of cross boundary working.

In undertaking a project such as this, expectations need to be managed as they are long term projects. Increasing housing supply cannot be achieved in the short or even medium term. Some of the issues are structural, such as housing markets, and others, such as the delays approving planning permissions, are beyond the remit of the project.

Project briefs should therefore be considered in the light of national as well as local issues so the outcomes can be more focused on actions that local authorities can actually deliver rather than measure beyond their  immediate remit.

Raj Patel, Strategic Housing and Enabling Officer, Harborough District Council: [email protected].