The Autumn Budget has taken a step forward by lifting the housing borrowing cap for some councils. We welcome this announcement, but it does not go far enough.
Key messages
- The national housing shortage is one of the most pressing issues we face. The last time this country built more than 250,000 homes a year, councils built more than 40 per cent of them. Only an increase in all types of housing will ensure we can reach the target of 300,000 homes a year. A genuine renaissance in council housebuilding would play a major role in increasing overall supply.
- The Autumn Budget has taken a step forward by lifting the housing borrowing cap for some councils. We welcome this announcement, but it does not go far enough. The cap should be lifted for all areas in order to free councils from restrictions on borrowing to build homes. Councils should also be allowed to use 100 per cent of receipts from Right to Buy sales to invest in new homes.
- The shortage of housing supply is contributing to an affordability crisis. The LGA has found that one in seven private renters spends over half their income on rent. A new wave of affordable housing must now be built, linked to a new definition of affordable housing as costing 30 per cent of household income or less.
Download the full briefing
Adjournment debate, Government policy on local authority housing, House of Commons, 20 December 2017