The Government has announced a raft of measures to increase delivery of new social housing across the sector, towards its goal of 300,000 new social affordable homes over the next decade.
As well as introducing “immediate” Section 106 changes to enable planners to vary tenures of ‘legacy’ homes if no registered provider is available to buy them, councils will be freed to build and manage up to 1,000 homes without being required to open a Housing Revenue Account.
Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook also confirmed that rent convergence would be reintroduced in 2027/2028, meaning that councils could increase rents on homes with lower rental rates quicker.
Kate Henderson, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, welcomed the moves:
“The reintroduction of rent convergence after more than 10 years is both fair for tenants, and will enable the social housing sector to build vital new affordable homes while increasing investment in existing ones. Alongside this, the commitment to strengthen Section 106 will ensure that affordable housing remains at the heart of mixed communities across the country.”
All private and social landlords will also need to meet a new Decent Homes Standard, ensuring a basic level of facilities in ‘reasonable repair’ by 2035.