MPs urge government to bring forward housing strategy and make sale of homes easier

The House of Commons housing committee chair has urged the government to bring forward its Long-term Housing Strategy and to introduce changes to buying and selling homes easier.

Florence Eshalomi, Labour MP for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green and the chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government committee, made two separate interventions on major housing issues last week.

The first saw the committee publish the government’s response to its report on housing conditions in the social rented sector, published in February, which noted that, despite the fact the minimum standard for decent homes had not changed in two decades, many social homes still failed to meet them.

That report recommended the government put in place interim targets in homes upgrading to the revised Decent Homes Standard and called for reviews every 10 years to update the standard.

In its responses, the government outlined the policy and strategy changes that it had already made since coming into power nearly two years ago and said it would “set out wider plans for housing in the Long-Term Housing Strategy”, which it said would be published “shortly”.

In response to a recommendation to introduce interim targets for upgrades to demonstrate progress to tenants and the public, the government said it would work with the National Housing Federation, Local Government Association and other sector bodies to “agree a compact” in the coming weeks.

At the heart of this “compact”, it said, would be “ambitious social and affordable housebuilding commitments”, which is said would show how grant support and regulatory certainty was translating into “ambitious delivery plans and bids into the SAHP from housing associations, councils and other Registered Providers”.

It said this compact would be “overseen by a taskforce comprising representatives from a range of sector organisations and interests” and would report regularly to the housing secretary.

In a statement, Eshalomi said it was “unacceptable” that almost 430,000 social homes fail to meet basic standards and said the government’s response “highlights a series of areas where clearer timelines and further detail is needed on the action to improve social housing conditions”.   

“The Government needs to push ahead with their Long-term Housing Strategy as soon as possible and set out a credible plan both for the regeneration of existing housing stock and the building of the new social homes the country needs,” she urged.

Separately, the committee chair wrote to the housing minister, Matthew Pennycook, with a series of recommendations to improve the home buying and selling process.

The committee, which is currently engaged in an inquiry into the affordability of home ownership, has recommended a move to “authoritative, up-front property information to help streamline property transactions”. 

Eshalomi’s letter also called on the government to make property transactions more binding at an earlier stage and introduce a code of practice and mandatory qualification for each type of property agent, including estate agents.

“The current homebuying and selling process in England and Wales is far more difficult, stressful, and gruelling than it should be,” said Eshalomi.

“The path to homeownership is littered with delays and collapsed transactions due to gazumping and broken chains. In addition to the personal impact involved in each case, these hurdles only serve to exacerbate the affordability crisis and make getting on the housing ladder more challenging.

“I hope the Housing Minister will pay close attention to our recommendations and take the clear action needed to improve the buying and selling process for people across England and Wales”.

The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government has been contacted for comment.