Moving Targets

By Gordon Miller
Posted: 2008/12/02

New government agency is launched to deliver three million extra homes by 2020.

A NEW government agency with an annual spend of more than £5billion launches on Monday to improve homes across the country.
It will work with local authorities and other partners to improve the quality, choice and energy efficiency of homes in urban, rural and coastal areas up and down the country.

The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) is a single national housing and regeneration agency combining the former roles of English Partnerships and the investment function of the Housing Corporation. Its chief executive is Sir Bob Kerslake, who formerly turned around Sheffield City Council.

Part of his responsibility will be to deliver Gordon Brown's pledge of three million new homes in England by 2020. He will also have to ensure they are zero carbon by 2016 and that a large and growing proportion of them are designated as affordable.

Mr Kerslake said: "The HCA is responsible for delivering most of England's affordable housing to help people such as key workers and first-time buyers get on the property ladder. Its joined-up approach to housing and regeneration means we can strike a balance between addressing housing needs and improving our existing towns and cities.

" The HCA, the formation of which was announced earlier this year, is already having an impact on the London housing market. Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, last week announced he would work closely with the HCA, investing nearly £2bn every year from the London housing budget to improve existing homes and deliver 50,000 new, affordable ones by 2011.

Mr Johnson wants to increase the opportunity for home ownership in the capital by raising the household income limit to £72,000 for low-cost ownership schemes and by simplifying access to them.

The initiative will enable any household paying the basic rate of income tax to qualify and is a clear move away from eligibility based on key-worker categories.

Mr Johnson said: "The strategy focuses not only on the issues facing the housing market in these difficult times but the historic problems of affordability, homelessness and overcrowding. It is designed to meet the needs of Londoners aspiring to get a foot on the housing ladder." Currently, housing associations are assisting buyers through shared-equity schemes.

Adeline Towers, 22, from Chiswick, south-west London, has bought a 30 per cent share in a £196,000 one-bedroom flat in Hounslow, west London. Ms Towers paid £58,500 for her share. Notting Hill Housing Association owns the rest.

Ms Towers, who works in merchandising, said: "I wanted my own place for ages but didn't think I could afford it. Then I heard about the flats in Hounslow. I hope to buy further shares with a view to owning the flat outright as soon as possible." A minimum income of £24,000 is required for an initial 30 per cent share of a one-bed apartment. Buyers then pay a subsidised rent on the remainder with the option to purchase further shares as affordable. Prices for a two-bedroom apartment start at £245,000.

The demand for Thames Valley Housing (TVH) services and properties is so great that it has opened a high street sales office in Camberley, Surrey. Across the road, it is offering 55 one and two-bedroom apartments at The Atrium under the government-backed HomeBuy scheme. Prices for a one-bed apartment, including floor coverings and fitted kitchens, start from £41,250 for a 30 per cent share in a property with a market value of £137,500. Monthly repayments start at about £610, including estimated mortgage repayments, rent and service charges.

At Knowle Village, in Fareham, Hampshire, TVH is selling one-bed apartments through the part-buy part-rent shared ownership scheme. Prices start at £31,250 for a 25 per cent share in a property with a market value of £125,000. Southern Housing, a2dominion and Shepherds Bush Housing Association also have affordable homes to buy.

Developments like Knowle Village play a small but significant role in the national production. Under the National Affordable Housing Programme, the Government will spend £8.4bn on the delivery of 155,000 new affordable homes over the next few years. This is more than three times the previous target.

So far, only 40 per cent of the £8.4bn has been allocated. The excess of £5.04bn available to housing associations over the next three years will be in large part allocated by the HCA.

It is not only housing associations which will have to respond to the HCA. Private builders will have to adapt their businesses in line with the agency's guidelines, and to survive the housing market meltdown. To date, year on year, completed house sales are down by more than 50 per cent according to the Land Registry.

Pete Halsall, managing director of sustainable developer Bioregional Quintain, said: "As builders prioritise survival over development, they will need to be hand-held in adapting their business models to the needs of long-term sustainable community development, and this should be a prime focus for the HCA.

" But there are those who believe the HCA will have to move fast if it is to deliver its bold new agenda. Ben Derbyshire, managing director of HTA Architects, said: "The new agency has all the powers it needs. It can buy sites, it can fund development, it can set standards appropriate to the circumstances, and it can select developers.

"But whatever the HCA does, it needs to act fast because the property industry is shrinking to the point it will not be able to recover when funding and confidence do return."

INFORMATION:.Notting Hill Housing: 020 8357 4444/sales@nhhg.org.uk/ www.nottinghillhousing.org.uk Thames Valley Housing: 0845 35 12345/sales@tvha. co. uk/ www.homebuy4u.co.uk