All policy articles
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NewsGovernment announces 30-month target for local plans
Ministers want to reduce the seven-year average to produce and adopt local plans
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NewsMHCLG pushes ahead with plan to ban leasehold
Shared ownership homes will be able to work within a commonhold says the government as white paper due imminently
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NewsSeven regional groups of social landlords join forces to call for funding overhaul
Joint spending review submission from groups representing 75 housing associations and councils calls for consolidation of funding pots and reclassification of housing investment as infrastructure spend
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NewsHow will the £300m AHP top-up work? The key questions answered
Housing secretary and deputy prime minister Angela Rayner announced a surprise funding top-up last week. Here is an at-a-glance guide to how it will work.
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NewsWider roll out of CPO reforms could slow housing development, warns HBF
Housebuilders’ body warns a ‘general direction’ to remove ‘hope value’ for whole categories of sites to speed up development would have the opposite effect
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In FocusIt’s deja vu all over again: Can the Ox-Cam Arc work second time around?
The chancellor has given her backing to an expansion plan for the corridor connecting Oxford, Milton Keynes and Cambridge, including thousands of homes, which the previous government dropped. Joey Gardiner asks what hope the industry can have
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CommentWhy is abolishing the Right to Buy so far off the table in England?
In the first in a series of monthly pieces by the UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence, Professor Ken Gibb reflects on the endurance of Thatcher’s flagship housing policy
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NewsCIH and NHF call for clarity over proposed CPO rule changes
British Property Federation warns of hit to land supply as government consultation closes
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News‘Welcome, but much more is needed’ – social housing sector reacts to £300m top-up to AHP
Angela Rayner’s surprise announcement of £300m extra for affordable home building has raised hopes of substantial support in the spending review
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NewsRayner still ‘determined’ to hit 1.5m homes target as she announces plan to digitise home buying
Housing secretary “not giving up” on manifesto pledge as project announced with Land Registry to ensure easier data-sharing
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NewsGovernment announces phased timetable for Awaab’s Law
Sector welcomes plan to introduce policy in phases with focus on damp and mould from October
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NewsGrey belt policy ‘unlikely to have significant impact’ on housebuilding, Lords committee finds
Lord Moylan warns Angela Rayner that policy has been “rushed and incoherent”
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CommentPlanning reform in the year ahead – a lot to do but the signs are promising
Paul Smith describes the current planning reform landscape and finds positivity in the government’s general direction of travel
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News‘Lack of mortgage availability is a significant barrier’ - HBF reacts to proposed overhaul of lending rules
The FCA is looking at loosening regulations around mortgages in response to Keir Starmer’s request for ideas to boost growth
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NewsMPs launch inquiry into land value capture
Florence Eshalomi’s housing select committee will also look at compulsory purchase rules
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In FocusThe 1.5 million-home question: Does the government’s planning reform programme add up?
Ministers unleashed a barrage of planning reforms in the dying days of 2024. Joey Gardiner asks if these can give the industry the boost it needs to get anywhere close to the government’s ambitious housebuilding target?
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In Focus‘Housing links to so many things’… Florence Eshalomi on her plans for the HCLG committee
The Vauxhall and Camberwell MP has been appointed chair of a cross-party group which seeks to hold the new government to account on its housing policies. Here, she explains how affordable homes and local government finance are her central priorities
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CommentLooking ahead to 2025: positivity about government’s housing ambitions, but will it all come together?
The new Labour government has made welcome announcements to boost housing supply, writes Rachael Williamson. But will the necessary investment, skills and capacity coalesce quickly enough?
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CommentThe new NPPF: the time for waiting is over
There is much to like in the updated planning guidance but ministers should demand new housing targets are delivered sooner rather than later, writes Paul Smith
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CommentTargeted funding and the right tenure mix: how to ensure the NPPF can deliver the housing we need
New Savills research shows 187,000 affordable homes are needed per year. Lydia McLaren and Steve Partridge explain how this could be achieved