Conservatives promise to progress ‘British homes for British workers’ policy and refresh Help to Buy

‘Local connection’ tests

 

The Conservative government previously launched a consultation on controversial new policies that had become known as ‘British homes for British workers’, which ran from January this year until 26 March. These included proposed reforms to prioritise social housing allocations to households that have a close connection to the UK and their local area.

 

In the manifesto, published this week, the Conservative Party said it would also implement a ‘three strikes and you’re out’ expectation of social housing landlords for anti-social behaviour. Landlords would be expected to evict tenants whose behaviour is “disruptive” to neighbours and the local community, the party added.

 

“We will always prioritise giving those who work hard and contribute to our country a leg up in the housing market,” the Conservative Party said in its manifesto.

 

Building new homes

 

In its new manifesto, the Conservative Party has also vowed to deliver 1.6 million new homes in England in the next parliament if re-elected to power. 

 

This would mean delivering around 320,000 homes per year over five years – a figure higher than the previous 300,000 homes target it had pledged to meet on an annual basis by the mid-2020s at the time of its 2019 election manifesto. The government later softened its stance as market conditions toughened.

 

In the latest manifesto, there is no commitment on a number of social or affordable homes within this delivery figure, and how the development of these homes will be funded.

 

“We will deliver a secure future for communities by giving more people a better chance of living where they would like – near their family, friends and job,” the Conservatives said.

 

The party said that it would renew the Affordable Homes Programme (AHP) to deliver homes of all tenures and focus on regenerating and improving housing estates. This comes as the existing 2021 to 2026 AHP is set to end in two years’ time.

 

The Conservatives said they would deliver a “record number of homes” each year on brownfield land in urban areas.

 

“We will do this by providing a fast-track route through the planning system for new homes on previously developed land in the 20 largest cities,” the Conservative Party said.

 

“Strong design codes will ensure this enables the gentle densification of urban areas, with new family homes and mansion blocks on treelined streets built in the local character. We will look at extending ‘full expensing’ to the delivery of brownfield housing.”

 

The party would also retain its “cast-iron commitment” to protect the green belt from “uncontrolled development, while ensuring more homes get built where it makes sense, like in inner cities”, it said.

 

A returned Conservative government would unlock new urban regeneration schemes, by creating locally-led urban development corporations in partnership with the private sector and institutional investors, the manifesto added.

 

And it pledged to raise density levels in inner London to those of European cities like Paris and Barcelona.

 

The party said it would support local and smaller builders by requiring councils to set land aside for them and lifting Section 106 “burdens” on more smaller sites.

 

It would also make sure local authorities use the new Infrastructure Levy to deliver the GP surgeries, roads and other local infrastructure needed to support homes, the Conservatives added.

 

The party confirmed it would also abolish the legacy EU ‘nutrient neutrality’ rules to “immediately” unlock the building of 100,000 new homes with local consent, with developers required in law to pay a one-off mitigation fee so there is no net additional pollution.

 

In August last year the government said the EU-derived regulations had blocked the development of more than 100,000 homes. At the time, the government announced that it would remove the ‘nutrient neutrality’ rules through amendments to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill. However, these amendments were rejected by the House of Lords in September 2023.

 

Ending rough sleeping

 

The Conservative Party said it would “continue with [its] plans to end rough sleeping and prevent people from ending up on the streets in the first place”, after it claimed it had made “significant progress” over the past few years.

 

“We will deliver our commitments under the Local Authority Housing Fund and review the quality of temporary accommodation,” the party said.

NHF’s response

 

Kate Henderson, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, welcomed the commitment to renew the AHP and to build 1.6 million homes, but said a “more focused commitment to social housing” is needed.

 

“With one in five children living in overcrowded homes and more homeless children living in temporary accommodation than ever before, the scale of the housing crisis we face should not be underestimated,” she said.

 

“It is encouraging to see the commitment to renew the Affordable Homes Programme and the recognition of the importance of grant funding for affordable homes in the manifesto. We also welcome the Conservatives’ ambition to build 1.6 million homes during the next parliament.”

 

Ms Henderson added: “We know, however, that with 4.2 million people in need of a social home in England, a more focused commitment to social housing – the most affordable and secure tenure for those on low incomes – is needed. Building these homes will not only transform lives but will save the taxpayer money, boost the economy and strengthen communities.

 

“Ensuring we have the homes we need will require long-term, strategic thinking from government. That is why, ahead of the election, we are calling on all parties for a nationally co-ordinated and fully funded long-term plan for housing that focuses on dramatically increasing the number of social homes built each year.”

 

Progressing with reforms

 

The Conservatives said it would complete the process of leasehold reform, to improve the lives of over four million leaseholders. This comes after the government rushed the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 through parliament following the announcement of the general election.

 

The party said: “We will cap ground rents at £250, reducing them to peppercorn over time. We will end the misuse of forfeiture so leaseholders don’t lose their property and capital unfairly and make it easier to take up commonhold.”

 

The Conservatives said it would pass its Renters Reform Bill that will “deliver fairness in the rental market for landlords and renters alike”.

 

An amendment to the bill had delayed the abolishment of Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions by requiring the chancellor to prepare an assessment of the operation of possession proceedings for rented properties, and for that assessment to be published before Section 21 can be abolished for existing tenancies.

 

“We will deliver the court reforms necessary to fully abolish Section 21 and strengthen other grounds for landlords to evict private tenants guilty of anti-social behaviour,” the Conservatives said.

 

First-time buyers

 

The Conservative Party said, if re-elected, it would make permanent the increase to the threshold at which first-time buyers pay stamp duty, from £300,000 to £425,000, which it introduced in 2022.

 

It also said it would launch a “new and improved” Help to Buy scheme to provide first-time buyers with an equity loan of up to 20 per cent towards the cost of a new build home.

 

The original scheme was launched more than a decade ago by the then-chancellor George Osborne to help first-time buyers without a large deposit to purchase a new build home. However, criticism of the scheme has included the conclusions of a House of Lords Built Environment Committee report in 2022, which found that the effect of the policy and others like it was to “inflate prices by more than their subsidy value” and that they “do not provide good value for money, which would be better spent on increasing housing supply”.