I attended the debate on a Ten Minute Rule Bill led by Christopher Chope MP to promote more affordable homes for rent and purchase.
The idea behind this bill is a good one. Private capital will be raised to pay for a substantial number of new homes where planning permission allows development. These homes will be rented out at 80% of market rents, enabling people to save for a deposit. They then have the option to buy the property, taking out a mortgage to do so. They will be entitled to a 10% discount on the purchase to cut the size of deposit they need to save.
Mr Chope estimates that the private sector can raise £40bn to put up 200,000 homes at £200,000 average price.
I would be interested to hear thoughts on this proposal. 10 Minute Rule Bills do not usually become law, but this is an idea which the government could adopt and implement if it has good support and if the detail works.
October 26, 2017
you call that affordable rent on a 200k home would be far out of reach for those at the bottom of the pile
October 27, 2017
Dear John – thank you for attending and passing on the details for comment. I have felt for years that what has happened to the housing market in this country would ultimately prove socially disastrous, although many feel they’ve benefited along the way. I will leave it to others to comment on the practicalities, but would certainly want to wish Mr Chope well with his idea.
October 27, 2017
80% of market rent is still more than 80% of the population can afford so there will be no saving for a deposit.
October 27, 2017
It may or may not be a good idea. What it does demonstrate is that government policies, regulations and interference in markets in his case housing which no one is prepared to correct others have to seek alternative less than ideal remedies to ameliorate the problem.
October 27, 2017
Brownfield should be the first requirement – mainly because that is where the infrastructure is. Council keeps allowing development of thousands of homes in greenfield areas, but hospital, railway station, parking facilities, water supply NOT even slightly improved. This will be a disaster.
October 27, 2017
So where are we going to build these houses? Greenfield sites? After all these are much loved by developers because it is the easier option and the cheapest and most profitable. When will we learn that they “aint making no more land”? Until we tackle the root problem – too many people both here and globally – this madness will continue.
By the way, a great idea of yours about the use of railway property for fibre optics. We could also use that property for building communities on props over the tracks and certainly over single story stations which amazingly are still being built wasting the potential value of the assets which multi storey buildings could offer.