King’s Speech: Government vows to ‘get Britain building’

Sector reaction

Housing bodies and associations have welcomed the commitments to housebuilding, planning reform and ending no-fault evictions in the King’s Speech. The sector has also highlighted the role it can play in building new homes.

Kate Henderson, chief executive of the National Housing Federation (NHF), said: “Today’s King’s Speech sets out some important and welcome first steps towards tackling the housing crisis and increasing the delivery of desperately needed affordable and social homes.

“We look forward to working closely with the government to ensure that a revitalised planning system delivers the number and types of affordable homes the country needs.

“We’re also pleased to see the government commit to abolishing Section 21 no-fault evictions to provide private renters with greater security and protect those on low incomes from the risk of homelessness.”

Ms Henderson added that the NHF fully supports the government’s ambition of building 1.5 million new homes over the next parliament, but she said this will not be possible through planning reform alone and will need to be met with the right funding.

She said: “We will continue to make the case for these changes to form part of a nationally co-ordinated and fully funded long-term plan for housing which places social housing at its core.

“Housing associations stand ready to support the government on this to deliver the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation.”

Fiona Fletcher-Smith, chair of the G15 and chief executive of L&Q, welcomed the housing and planning measures announced by the new government and said that housing associations stand ready to help deliver these.

“Concrete actions have long been needed to effectively address the housing crisis,” she said. “Housing associations in London, and all across the country, stand ready to partner with the government in this mission.

“Our potential to provide even more high-quality affordable homes can be unlocked, without having to commit significant new funds, through legislation that guarantees long-term rent certainty, access to the Building Safety Fund, and a more efficient allocation of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund.”

Geeta Nanda, chief executive of Metropolitan Thames Valley, said that the King’s Speech further demonstrates how this government “grasps the importance of housing to the UK’s future growth and prosperity”.

She said the scale of the government's ambition is “extensive” and housing associations will be “key partners” in achieving these.

“Planning reform is a key component of a long-term plan for housing, and we are pleased by the government’s clear commitment to this,” Ms Nanda said.

“The scale of the government ambition is extensive and housing associations will be key partners in achieving these.

“With the right resources and rebuilding of capacity, housing associations like us can play an even greater key role in helping to tackle the housing crisis.

“We welcome the early engagement we have had with the government and look forward to continuing to collaborate towards meeting one of the greatest challenges of our time.”

Andy Hulme, chief executive of Hyde, said it is welcome to see the government prioritising the need to get housebuilding going again in this King’s Speech.

He said: “We need a step change in delivery to address the steep fall in social housing supply. The positive attitude of the prime minister, chancellor and housing secretary towards delivering much-needed affordable homes gives us more confidence this will be delivered.

“However, getting the legislative landscape right is just one part of what’s needed. We must also see a long-term approach to funding brought forward to support social housing providers to make the investment needed in new and existing homes.”

Bjorn Howard, chief executive at Aster Group, said that putting new housing legislation at the forefront of the inaugural King’s Speech is a “welcome statement of intent from this government”.

“Housing targets will help set the right tone and we fully support this government’s promise to reintroduce them,” he said.

“The forthcoming housing legislation will be essential in helping our sector to understand what sits beneath those targets and what role housing associations will play.

“Social housing providers will be central to producing the necessary numbers of new affordable homes. Doing so requires us to be able to make long-term plans – certainty and stability in areas like social rent will be essential to us planning for, and meeting, the evolving needs of our customers and Labour’s fresh build targets.”

Gavin Smart, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Housing, said it was good to see that the speech outlined plans for legislation to address housing supply, renters’ rights and leasehold reform, underpinned by a “strong commitment” to devolution.
 
He said: “We need to shift the dial on housing and we welcome the government’s ambition to do that. As always, the underpinning detail and timings will be key to understanding the opportunities and challenges for the housing sector, but we look forward to working with the new government to ensure everyone has a decent, secure and affordable place to call home.”

Patrick Franco, chief executive of Notting Hill Genesis, welcomed the government’s “ambitious plan” to “turbocharge” housebuilding, generate wealth and unlock economic growth for the whole of the country.

“While the legislation announced today will go some way to improve the housing sector, there is still more to be done and these commitments must now be backed by swift decisive action,” he said.

Marcus Dixon, director of UK residential research at JLL, said he is pleased to see that the speech contained a number of commitments on housing, including changes to planning laws and a drive to “get Britain building”.

He said: “The ambitions of the new government are admirable, but as JLL has said during the election period, large housebuilding targets do not automatically mean greater output.

“We hope the new government will begin to address the systemic issues within the sector to unlock greater levels of development.”