HBF publishes extended housing policy ‘blueprint’

The Home Builders Federation (HBF) has published its full manifesto outlining how the new Government can address the nation’s housing crisis and get Britain building.

The manifesto is an extension of the home building blueprint issued in the lead up to the election, titled ‘Homebuilding: An engine for growth, prosperity and opportunity’.

The follow-up version details the specific actions Government can take to tackle declining homeownership and supply, resolve systemic issues in the planning process and develop a future talent pipeline to build more high-quality green homes.

While industry built more than 234,000 new homes in 2022-23, decades of undersupply have left the nation with far fewer homes than it needs and indicators forecast that housing supply will continue to drop. Recently published data shows that the 12 months to March 2024 saw the fewest new housing sites receiving planning permission than during any 12-month period on record.

The election of a new government has presented an opportunity for future housing policy to support the delivery of new homes and boost economic growth, currently blocked by a number of market and policy challenges:

• Paralysis in the planning process – Underfunded and under resourced Local Planning Authorities (LPAs), the complexity of the planning process and the lack of timely responses from statutory consultees are resulting in increased delays, uncertainty and costs for developers of all sizes, across the country.
• SME home builders are in decline – While all developers face challenges with planning, SME developers experience them most acutely by virtue of their size. In addition, they are also struggling with land availability, due to the lack of small sites that are being brought forward through Local Plans.
• Nutrient neutrality mitigation requirements – At least 160,000 new homes remain blocked by Natural England’s moratorium on house building in 74 local authorities despite evidence that the occupants of new homes contribute less than 1% to the problem of nutrient pollution in rivers.
• Lack of support for first-time buyers (FTBs) - Builders can only build if buyers can buy and that has become increasingly difficult, particularly for FTBs, due to the economic climate, higher interest rates and the closure of the Help to Buy Equity Loan Scheme (HtB) in March 2023. The closure of the scheme left aspiring owners without any form of Government support scheme for the first time in over 25 years.
• Uncontracted S106 units – A recent survey of a small selection of HBF members found that there are tens of thousands Affordable Housing units with detailed planning consent that remain uncontracted with Registered Providers (RPs).

The solutions identified in the blueprint are divided into five clear themes:

• Housing the nation: Homes to meet the country’s needs
• Increasing housing supply: Establishing a clearer and more certain policy landscape
• Fixing the planning process: Tackling the systemic issues hindering delivery
• Unblocking the housing pipeline: Finding a resolution to nutrient neutrality
• Greener growth: Building blocks for high quality, greener homes

Emma Ramell, Director of External Affairs at the Home Builders Federation says: “A constructive and collaborative partnership between home builders and the Government will be essential to addressing the nation’s housing crisis.

“Our extended blueprint of housing policies identifies the actions Government can take to tackle declining homeownership and supply, systemic issues in the planning process, and other significant challenges facing the home building industry.

“The Government’s housing ambition and recent policy proposals put forward to deliver them are positive and welcome. However, there are still many more issues to be addressed. We stand ready to work with Government to unlock to positive social and economic benefits development brings to local communities.”

Read the extended version of ‘extended version of ‘Homebuilding: An engine for growth, prosperity and opportunity’ and the detailed policy asks.