黑洞社区

An independent peer has fired a broadside at UK housebuilders, whom he said put corporate profits before solving the housing needs of the most vulnerable in society.

In a House of Lords debate on housing availability and affordability last week, Lord Best 鈥� formerly Richard Best, a one-time director of the National Federation of Housing Associations 鈥� said the UK was 鈥渁bjectly dependent鈥� on private housebuilders, who were 鈥渇ailing us badly鈥�.

Best said the industry鈥檚 鈥渃atalogue of failures鈥� included poor quality in construction and design; bad customer care; miserable space standards; rip-off leases for houses; deteriorating satisfaction of buyers; avoidance of housing for older people; rejection of brownfield sites and a concentration on easier greenfield opportunities; poor planning strategy, and sitting on land with planning consent until prices 鈥済o ever upward鈥�.

He went on: 鈥淧erhaps worst of all, [is the] reneging on Section 106 agreements and wriggling out of obligations to provide affordable homes for local people, on opaque grounds of 鈥榲iability鈥� and housebuilders鈥� 鈥榬ight鈥� to make at least 20% profit on the deal.鈥�

Best said shares in the major housebuilders鈥� shares had risen by 127% in the past four years, compared with 21% for the FTSE All-Share Index, while profits in companies such as Persimmon rose by more than 30% last year.

But he believed the private housebuilding sector had 鈥渓ost the confidence of the whole nation鈥�.

And while he welcomed the government鈥檚 recent announcement regarding support for local authorities and housing associations to build 25,000 homes for social rent, Best also took aim at internal wrangling between government departments, which he said only served to make the lives of poor people more difficult.

鈥淭he issue of affordability also highlights the crying need for the good intentions of Ministers at the Department for Communities and Local Government not to be continually undermined by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), [which] has been disastrously cutting, capping and freezing the support it provides to enable poorer people to afford a proper home.

鈥淭his interdepartmental conflict is currently undermining the provision of supported housing for vulnerable and older people, and it undermines the Homelessness Reduction Act that I had the honour of piloting through your Lordships鈥� House, because the DWP freeze on the local housing allowance, which caps rent for those who rely on benefits, causes homelessness when landlords inevitably turn out or turn away anyone in receipt of benefits.鈥�

Responding to Lord Best鈥檚 speech, a spokesman for the Home Builders Federation said housebuilders had delivered a 50% increase in supply in the past three years and were committed to building even more homes in the years to come, 鈥減laying their part in solving the nation鈥檚 acute housing crisis鈥�.

Housebuilders invested billions of pounds worth of contributions to improved local infrastructure and amenities, he added. 鈥淗ouse builders are a key part of the solution to our housing crisis and all people involved in housing supply, including politicians, need to be working together to develop workable solutions to the challenges we face.鈥�

On Best鈥檚 claims around affordable housing and housebuilders鈥� profitability, the spokesman said affordable housing requirements set out in planning policy had to be negotiable. 鈥淭hey are aspirational targets. This means they are not set at 50%, but based on individual site assessment of viability.

鈥淪imilarly, the claim that developer return of 20% is a 鈥榬ight鈥� is incorrect. This too is a negotiable element of the viability of the site, discussed and agreed with the local planning authority when granting planning permission.鈥�