Housing

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Housing

The housing strategy at a glance

Support for delivery of new homes

Houses under construction We are:

supporting a new build indemnity scheme led by the Home Builders Federation and Council of Mortgage Lenders to provide up to 95 per cent loan to value mortgages for new build properties in England, backed by a housebuilder indemnity fund
consulting on a proposal to those planning obligations agreed prior to April 2010, where development is stalled, to be reconsidered
establishing a new £500 million Growing Places Fund which will support infrastructure that unblocks housing and economic growth
launching a new £400 million Get Britain Building (external link) investment fund, which will support building firms in need of development finance, including small and medium-sized builders, to get going on stalled sites
freeing up public sector land with capacity to deliver up to 100,000 new homes with Build Now, Pay Later deals - where there is market demand and where this is affordable and represents value for money - to support builders who are struggling to get finance upfront
supporting and encouraging more individuals to build their own homes through a Custom Homes programme, including making available up to £30 million of new funding to support provision of short-term project finance on a repayable basis
providing more support for local areas that want to deliver larger scale new development to meet the needs of their growing communities - through locally planned large-scale development
putting in place strong new incentives for housing growth through the New Homes Bonus, Community Infrastructure Levy and proposals for local business rates retention
giving communities new powers to deliver the development they want through Community Right to Build

Supporting choice and quality for tenants

Modern council houses We are:

supporting new Build to Let models of development, where homes are built specifically for the private rental market, with funding from investors with a medium to long term interest
giving local authorities with retained housing stock direct financial and strategic responsibility for 1.7 million council homes
introducing a radical programme of reform of social housing through the Localism Act 2011, changing the way in which people access social housing, the types of tenancies which are provided and the way that the homelessness duty is discharged
tackling fraud and tenancy abuse
supporting greater innovation and competition between social landlords - including encouraging new private entrants into the social housing market, and considering innovative approaches to funding affordable housing in the medium term
reinvigorating the Right to Buy by raising the discounts to make it attractive to social tenants across England who aspire to own their own homes
committing to build a new affordable home for every home bought under Right to Buy

Tackling empty homes

Empty homes We are:

providing £100 million of funding to bring empty homes back into use as affordable housing and a further £50 million to tackle some of the worst concentrations of empty homes
consulting on changes to Council Tax to help tackle empty homes and bring them back into productive use

Better quality homes, places and housing support

We are:

establishing a Ministerial Working Group to tackle the complex causes of homelessness
setting out a new deal for older people's housing, with a better offer to support older people to live independently for longer
funding the Design Council to support communities in shaping development in their area, improving the energy efficiency of both new and existing homes, and ensuring protection of the green belt and protected areas as part of our commitment to sustainable development
delivering the Zero Carbon Homes standard for all new homes from 2016.