The long-awaited housing white paper will be published tomorrow, with government promising a “radical” shift in policy. What can the industry expect?
Build to rent
What we know so far
- Measures to encourage institutional investment.
- Longer, more secure tenancies.
What the industry wants
- A reversal of the 3% stamp duty surcharge for buy-to-let landlords announced in March 2016.
- Starter homes exemption for built to rent schemes.
- National recognition of build-to-rent as a tenure to be included in local plans.
Green belt
What we know so far
- No changes will be made to existing policy. Currently, councils can only permit housebuilding on green belt land in “exceptional circumstances”.
- That means they need to prove they have first exhausted all other options, such as building on brownfield sites, increasing density in town centres and working with neighbouring councils to free up land.
What the industry wants
Green belt building is a highly contentious issue politically, and the industry is not exempt from diversity of opinion. However, there has been a growing consensus that some green belt release is necessary if the government wants to reach its 1m new homes target by 2020.
“A lot of the recent focus from government has gone on the building on brownfield sites, but it is clear that this alone is not enough,” says Iain Gilbey, planning expert at Pinsent Masons.
“Easing the restrictions for building on green belt land is politically highly charged, but carefully regulated and planned release of such land must now be considered as inevitable.”
Modular construction
What we know so far
Sites could be reserved for prefabricated housing, which will ensure housing is delivered more quickly.
What the industry wants
Incentives or guarantees would help promote the use of modular construction, according to the British Property Federation. “There seems to be a growth in the use of modern methods of construction, and appetite for its use,” it said. “This is most apparent in the build-to-rent sector but, to promote growth of its use, government could offer incentives or guarantee throughput.”
Landbanking penalties
What we know so far
The white paper will include measures to ensure units are built more quickly after planning permission is achieved. However, specific details have yet to be released.
Community infrastructure levy review
What we know so far
The government-commissioned CIL review will be published alongside the white paper. Undertaken by a panel led by former BPF chief executive Liz Peace, the review is expected to recommend a major policy U-turn, replacing CIL with a national base tax on all new developments. A government response to the recommendations is also expected to be released tomorrow.
From March: CIL red tape set for cut >>
What the industry wants
The BPF has called for a “radical simplification” of the infrastructure tax. A spokesman said: “It is desperately important for the sake of housing delivery that infrastructure investment supports new homes. CIL has had a chequered history and there has been various technical reviews. Some of the principles of CIL are good, in terms of it helping to fund planned infrastructure investment, but the system is complex and in need of radical simplification.”
Local planning
What we know so far
The white paper will include a response to a shake-up of local plan policy recommended by a local plans expert group last year. Ministers have considered allowing councils to raise planning fees locally to bolster under-resourced planning departments.
Measures to “de-politicise” the planning process have been promised by the housing minister. Barwell told an industry audience last month that the paper would look at “what we can do to try to make sure in this country that when someone comes forward and proposes building homes that that proposal does not meet political resistance”.
What the industry wants
The BPF has urged the government to pursue many of the recommendations made by the LPEG. “In a similar vein, we urge government to allow local authorities to raise more money via planning fees to help better resource planning departments, for a guaranteed level of service,” a spokesman said.
Tall buildings
What we know so far
Ministers have reportedly considered relaxing rules on rights to light and building height restrictions. This would allow houses as high as the existing tallest property on their block to be built without requiring special planning permission.
What the industry wants
Without specifics, the industry is reluctant to comment on the changes. However, any measures to relax rules around building tall buildings, where appropriate, are likely to be supported.
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