Group adds 700 housing developments stalled because of registered providers not buying affordable housing units
Research by the Home Builders Federation has said 8,500 homes due in the next 12 months are at risk of not being built because of a lack of a contract with a registered provider.
The body also said more than 700 housing developments have been stalled in the past three years because of registered providers stepping back from buying affordable housing units required by local authorities.
In response, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government criticised registered providers for not buying enough section 106 affordable homes.
A MHCLG spokesperson said: ”These figures are not good enough. We are taking decisive action to make affordable homes available to those that desperately need them.
“We’ve already given housing providers financial stability to help them buy section 106 homes so they are not stood empty.”
Neil Jefferson, chief executive at the HBF said: “Against rising affordability pressures and increasing numbers of families living in temporary accommodation, it cannot be that affordable homes are left standing empty.
“While [the] government’s housing announcements have been welcome, as it stands, housing associations are unable to bid and private buyers unable to buy, leaving the housing outlook increasingly uncertain.”
The figures are likely to deepen concern about the slowdown in the section 106 market. Under this mechanism, housebuilders are required by local authorities to make a percentage of homes in their schemes affordable.
The housebuilder typical sells the affordable homes to registered provider at a lower rate. This mechanism has in recent years accounted for around four in 10 affordable homes delivered.
However in recent years cash-strapped housing associations have stepped back from doing section 106 deals, with many shifting towards doing their own direct ‘land-led’ development to ensure greater control over projects.
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