黑洞社区

Whoever wins the general election next week must extend the Help To Buy (HTB) scheme past its current 2021 cut-off date, according to the Home Builders鈥� Federation (HBF).

Arguing for the extension in its blueprint document for the next Parliament, the HBF said house builders needed certainty over HTB鈥檚 future in order to assess land development opportunities and said the scheme itself may need to be 鈥渢weaked to ensure it has most impact on increased housing supply鈥�, following criticism that in some cases it helped people who did not need it.

Despite these reservations, the HBF said Help to Buy had been a 鈥減henomenal success鈥�, helping around 120,000 households to buy a new build home since April 2013, around 80% of whom were first time buyers and been 鈥渁bsolutely key鈥� to achieving the more than 50% increase in housebuilding seen over the past three years.

The HBF also called on the next government to 鈥渂eef up鈥� the National Planning Policy Framework to encourage the provision of more specialist homes for the UK鈥檚 ageing population. 鈥淟ocal councils鈥� statutory duty to plan for housing for older people in their local plans and housing needs assessments should also be strengthened,鈥� it added.  

Stewart Baseley, executive chairman of the HBF, said the social implications of the UK鈥檚 housing shortage were 鈥渂ecoming ever more apparent with today鈥檚 young people struggling to own a home, high rental payments preventing them from saving for a mortgage deposit and ever more people in sub-standard or temporary accommodation and on local authority waiting lists.

鈥満诙瓷缜� homes helps address social issues, whilst creating jobs both directly and in the supply chain and delivering investment in existing communities.鈥�