The Local Government Association (LGA) warns that the average new home in England will have to last 2,000 years if the sluggish rate of house building and replacement continues.
The LGA say the country has not built enough homes for decades, and, as a result, existing homes must house more people and last for much longer. They say this has led to the country spending nearly as much on the repair and maintenance of existing homes as it does building new ones.
But their analysis reveals that one in 10 new home buyers are dissatisfied with the quality of their new home and one in six would not recommend their house builder to a friend.
The research, carried out for the LGA, also reveals most local areas have more homes built before 1930 than from any other period of time, demonstrating the age of much of England’s housing stock.
The LGA is calling on government to help councils build a new generation of high quality, genuinely affordable and additional homes, supported by adequate infrastructure and services. Housebuilders also need to work with councils to ensure any new home is built to a good quality, and will stand the test of time.
With increasing numbers of people in the private rented sector, council leaders are also concerned that 28 per cent of privately rented homes are not decent, an increase of 150,000 homes since 2006. In comparison, council homes are more likely to be better quality, with 85 per cent meeting the decent homes standard, an increase from 70 per cent in 2008.
Local government leaders insist a “national renaissance” in council housebuilding must be central to solving our housing shortage and improving quality, and for delivering the mix of different homes that meet the growing and changing need of communities.
For this to happen, the LGA said councils need to be able to borrow to build and to keep 100 per cent of the receipts of any home they sell to reinvest in new and existing housing.
Cllr Judith Blake, LGA Housing spokesperson, said:
“Our country’s failure to build enough homes over the past few decades is putting huge pressure on our existing housing stock.
“Families are having to spend more on rent or mortgages every month and deserve a decent home that is affordable. But as costs are rising, so is dissatisfaction with the standards of new homes.
“Everyone deserves an affordable and decent place to live. It’s crucial that all new and existing homes are up to a decent standard.
“Councils need to be able to ensure quality through the planning system and to encourage high standards in rented and owned properties across the board.
“To spark a desperately-needed renaissance in council housebuilding, councils also need to able to borrow to build new homes and keep all receipts from any homes they sell to reinvest in building new homes that are of a good quality and affordable.”
Responding to the LGA report, Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB said: “The LGA is right to highlight the slow rate of house building in England as we are currently still building significantly fewer new homes than we need to be to meet demand. Not only are we not building enough homes right now, but we’ve been under-building in this country for decades. In order to address this problem, it is vital that the Government acts on key proposals in the March 2017 Housing White Paper. The White Paper quite rightly
“The LGA is right to highlight the slow rate of house building in England as we are currently still building significantly fewer new homes than we need to be to meet demand. Not only are we not building enough homes right now, but we’ve been under-building in this country for decades. In order to address this problem, it is vital that the Government acts on key proposals in the March 2017 Housing White Paper. The White Paper quite rightly emphasis the need to diversify the house building sector so it is less reliant on a small number of large house building companies to build our homes. The concern is that almost six months after the White Paper was published, we’ve seen limited movement on a range of policies that if implemented, could start making a difference today.”
Berry continued: “The LGA report also raises concerns regarding the quality of new homes and points to one in ten home buyers being dissatisfied with the end result. To put this another way, that means 90% of consumers are satisfied with the quality of their new home, which is a high customer satisfaction rate. Furthermore, this satisfaction rate is likely to be higher still among customers of SME house builders like the ones represented by the FMB. Our members market themselves on building high-quality bespoke homes for their clients and this is their unique selling point.”
Berry concluded: “The LGA report also suggests that total investment in new homes should be greater than total investment in the refurbishment of our existing homes. Given that the UK’s housing stock is among the oldest in Europe, with a high proportion of heritage properties and listed buildings, it is equally important that these homes are properly looked after and maintained. In other words, it’s not an either or situation. If we are to solve the housing crisis then we must increase the delivery of new housing but also maximise the lifetimes of our existing buildings. The Government could help encourage greater investment in our existing housing stock by reducing VAT from 20% to 5% to encourage more people to properly maintain their properties.”
