For the current Conservative Party, torn between free markets and nimbism, home ownership and growing instincts for a big state, this is a serious challenge.
Gove argues that increasing social rental property is the path to home ownership, as tenants will be able to save more to buy their own home.
To achieve this, one possibility is to remove the rules of section 106 – according to which developers agree to build a certain part of housing at affordable prices, for sale at a discount or at market rent – and replace it with a flat tax on construction. This can be given to the councils to make the building themselves.
Will Tanner, director of the center-right Onward think tank, says Section 106 is “well-intentioned”, but that commitments to build more affordable homes are often “negotiated downwards” once construction begins. The fee, which gives councils up to £ 7 billion a year to councils, could allow them to continue with more construction.
He added: “Ensuring that people have a safe, secure home to live in, to raise a family, to provide for them in their community is a long-standing conservative tradition.
However, David O’Leary of the Federation of Home Builders questions whether councils have the capacity to build on a large enough scale.
While the “imperfect” current system has reduced the number of properties rented for social rent in favor of other affordable schemes, such as shared property that brings in more money, O’Leary says he “generally works to ensure local priorities in each area.” time “.
Meanwhile, focusing only on social housing misses the idea that there is a lack of housing in the entire market, said Christian Niemetz of the Institute for Economic Affairs.
More municipal council construction “is not an alternative to the planning reform Gove has just given up,” he said, referring to plans to build more rural homes, which were abandoned after conservatives lost the Cesham by-elections. and Amersham last June.
The aim was to have a “rule-based” system that clearly defines what construction will be allowed. Niemietz admits it would be “initially unpopular” as construction tends to attract imbi, but it eventually became popular as housing became more affordable.
“You have to increase supply in order to reduce prices in the end,” Nimetz said.
Alex Morton of the Center for Policy Studies recommends renewing the promise of the 2015 manifesto to give the right to 2 million families in housing associations to buy their homes in a dramatic expansion of the old policy, while building new properties to replace those that are sold and thus maintain stocks of cheap rental housing.
“As more social housing plays a role, there is a need to ensure that ownership remains at the heart of the Tories’ supply – as is the voter’s drive.
“Michael Gove’s thoughtful nature should be able to govern both – or it risks voters feeling abandoned,” he said.
“While it is right to emphasize helping social tenants acquire property, the best way to do so is to provide the promised” Right to Buy “extension to nearly 2 million households in housing associations’ property.”
That would be a real return to Thatcherism.
Even Thatcher Tories want more social housing, says Michael Gove
Michael Gove said that even people who “honor Thatcher” want more social housing, as he raised the prospect of increasing the amount of state land used to build homes.
Falling levels of home ownership, coupled with rising property prices and rising private rents, mean the government needs to increase the supply of houses, the housing minister said at a conference hosted by the charity Shelter.
“We have come to a situation for various reasons where the number of people living in social housing, the availability of social housing, is simply inadequate for any notion of social justice or economic efficiency,” he said.
Providing more housing is a conservative response to the problem, he said, citing the legacy of Margaret Thatcher, whose right to buy has allowed more municipal council tenants to become homeowners.
“The number of people who have had access to property – to own their own home – in this country has been declining for years. This is a cause for concern for me as a conservative, because I believe that the desire to own a home one day is a noble thing, “said Mr Gove.
“Even the most – how to say it – the veneration of Thatcher, the fetishization of home ownership, the capital-raising members of this audience … you want more social housing. Because you want people to be in decent homes where they can pursue the job they love and save a day for a home they might want to call their own. ”
Lower rents would help more people save a deposit to get to the housing ladder, he said.
“If people are in the private rental sector and pay rents, they have – especially in our big cities – the ability to save in order to acquire … this deposit capital is vanishingly small,” he said.
He added: “The case for more social housing – ‘why’ – I think is becoming better understood and has been done by Shelter for years. But this is an argument that has reached not only maturity but also urgency in our political debate. “
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