Although there are, currently, other more pressing challenges that the Government is tackling, the urgent need for more affordable housing is an ongoing challenge that must continue to be at the forefront of its strategic planning.
Shortly before lock down hit us, the Government published its latest proposal for meeting this challenge when it invited responses to its consultation paper “First Homes. Getting You On The Ladder”.
This latest initiative continues the Government’s longstanding focus on increasing home ownership rather than providing affordable rented accommodation. As the opening words say, “The Government is committed to making the dream of home ownership a reality for everyone and we recognise that for many this simply feels out of reach”.
The Government’s latest answer to this dilemma is a scheme which is intended to make home ownership affordable at a local level. Variable discounts (with a minimum of 30%) applied to a variable price cap will, it claims, allow “local people” as defined by local authorities to realise this utopian “dream” of becoming a home owner. Properties funded through this scheme will, in addition, remain “affordable” on resale with “local” people continuing to benefit from the discount subject to the mortgagee protection provisions necessary to secure lender buy in. Many will question whether this continuing emphasis on home ownership is the right way forward. Will it, for example, adversely impact on shared ownership schemes, which perhaps offer greater opportunity for home ownership, and will it reduce the availability of properties for social rent for those for whom home ownership is not a realistic aspiration?
However, putting these concerns to one side, and accepting that this scheme is intended to promote home ownership for those who otherwise cannot achieve it, “First Homes” does have the potential to offer another option for local people to access affordable local housing. To this extent, the scheme should, in our view, be welcomed.
