The Liberal Democrats want to penalise developers who fail to build and bring in a new era of government-commissioned housebuilding.
The party’s 2017 general election manifesto, Change Britain’s Future, includes a promise to increase the rate of housebuilding to 300,000 units a year by “directly” building homes through a “government commissioning programme” to “fill the gap left by the market”.
Its housing policies include:
- Scrapping exemptions on smaller housing development schemes from their obligation to provide affordable homes;
- Strengthening local authority powers to prevent large developers “reneging on their commitments”;
- Creating a community right of appeal in cases where planning decisions go against the approved local plan; and
- Giving councils power to penalise “excessive land-banking” when “builders with planning permission” have failed to build after three years.
The manifesto also includes policies to reduce foreign ownership of homes, such as giving councils powers to levy up to 200% council tax on second homes and “buy to leave empty” investments from overseas.
The party promises to ensure that 500,000 “affordable, energy-efficient homes” are built by the end of parliament. It would create at least 10 new garden cities in England, providing “tens of thousands of high-quality new zero carbon homes” with gardens and shared green space.
A new government-backed British Housing and Infrastructure Development Bank would be set up, with a remit including providing long-term capital for major new settlements and helping attract finance for major house building projects.
A borrowing cap on local authorities is also proposed, as well as an increase in the borrowing capacity of housing associations, so that they can build council and social housing.
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