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Sell expensive social housing to fund new homes, urges thinktank Social homes funding plan 'blindingly obvious', says housing minister
(about 4 hours later)
Expensive social housing should be sold to fund house-building, a report has urged. Grant Shapps, the housing minister, has welcomed a report from a thinktank saying that social housing in expensive places should be sold to fund housebuilding in areas that are cheaper.
Putting the highest-value properties on the market when they become vacant could generate £4.5bn to build up to 170,000 social homes a year, according to Policy Exchange. He said the proposal from Policy Exchange was "blindingly obvious" and that only "a perverse kind of leftwing dogma" was discouraging local authorities from implementing it. But some Labour politicians strongly criticised the recommendation, which was described on Twitter by Lord Prescott, the former deputy prime minister, as "sanctioned gerrymandering".
The influential thinktank – set up by the Conservative MP Nick Boles, a key ally of David Cameron – estimates the move could reduce the housing waiting list by 600,000 in five years. In its report, Ending Expensive Social Tenancies, Policy Exchange says putting the highest-value properties on the market when they become vacant could generate £4.5bn to build up to 170,000 social homes a year.
Its report, Ending Expensive Social Tenancies, says properties worth more than the average house price for an area account for one in five of the social housing stock. It says properties worth more than the average house price for an area account for one in five of the social housing stock. These 816,000 homes have a total value of £159bn, with £71.9bn of that in London. About 3.5% of the buildings become vacant each year and, after debts are paid off, would raise £4.5bn.
The 816,000 homes have a total value of £159bn, with £71.9bn of that in London. About 3.5% of the buildings become vacant each year and, after debts are paid off, would raise £4.5bn. The report suggests the money should be set aside to build additional homes, and recommends introducing spending guidelines to ensure stock-quality standards are driven higher.
The report suggests the money should be set aside to build additional homes, and recommended introducing spending guidelines to ensure stock-quality standards are driven higher.
Alex Morton, the report's author, said: "Expensive social housing is costly, unpopular and unfair. That is why almost everybody rejects it. Social housing tenants deserve a roof over their heads – but not one better than most people can afford, particularly as expensive social housing means less social housing and so longer waiting lists for most people in need."Alex Morton, the report's author, said: "Expensive social housing is costly, unpopular and unfair. That is why almost everybody rejects it. Social housing tenants deserve a roof over their heads – but not one better than most people can afford, particularly as expensive social housing means less social housing and so longer waiting lists for most people in need."
Welcoming the report, Shapps told the Daily Telegraph: "It clearly makes sense to use housing stock as efficiently as possible. Where you have houses which are worth millions, you could sell them and build a lot more homes to help sometimes vulnerable people come off the waiting list.
"It is blindingly obvious. And only a perverse kind of leftwing dogma that appears indifferent to the suffering of those languishing on record waiting lists prevents this kind of common sense from prevailing."
Responding on Twitter, Prescott said: "@policy_exchange's social cleansing plan effectively sanctioned gerrymandering. No wonder Tories back it. Shirley Porter all over again". Chris Bryant, the shadow immigration minister, also posted a message on Twitter accusing the Tories of having a "ghetto social housing policy".
Karen Buck, the Westminster North MP and a shadow education minister, told the Today programme that recent research showed that 16% of properties sold in central London were being bought by overseas buyers. She said the Policy Exchange proposal would "reduce the stock of properties for lower income households, many of whom are communities which have lived here forever, in favour of an inflated, overseas, money-driven housing bubble."
But Neil O'Brien, the director of Policy Exchange, told the same programme that his thinktank's plan would help low-income families because it could bring about a huge reduction in the waiting list for social housing.
"It's also worth thinking about whether it's actually helping people if you put very poor people in expensive areas, or areas that become over time expensive," he said. "It's not good if you're living in social housing and your local shop's turned into some very expensive supermarket."
He went on: "The truth is, I don't believe anybody has a right to live in the most expensive part of town. People do have a right to get housed, but just not to be housed in the most expensive areas."