The government has rightly prioritised housebuilding, committing to build 1.5m net new homes this parliament. But existing homes need investment too.
Ben Cooper is Research Manager at the Fabian Society.
Our home is supposed to be a place of safety and security but for nearly 1.5m renting households, this is not the case. Over 16 per cent of all households who rent, live in a home that harms their health, wellbeing and education. And nearly three-quarters (71 per cent) of those living in poor quality accommodation rent privately.
Many will have struggled to keep their home cool in the recent heatwave and will struggle to keep their property warm in the winter. Others suffer from damp, mould, poor ventilation and general disrepair. This is a housing quality crisis.
There are significant differences in the quality of rented homes between different regions. According to the latest figures, 22 per cent of rented properties in Yorkshire and Humber are non-decent – compared to just 12 per cent in London, And the problems are often worse outside of major cities, as local authorities like North Yorkshire, West Devon, and Pendle have large proportions of people living in substandard rented accommodation.
The government has recently acted on poor-quality rented homes. The Renters Rights’ Bill will apply the Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector for the first time, and is introducing ‘Awaab’s Law’ to tackle damp, mould and other hazards in social homes. The new rent settlement for social housing providers will enable them to invest in their existing homes.
However, the significant geographical difference in non-decent rented accommodation requires targeted public investment across streets, blocks of flats, and entire estates.
This was recognised by the previous Labour government. Between 2003 and 2011, the Housing Market Renewal Programme invested £2.3bn in demolishing homes, building new ones, and refurbishing existing ones – including those for rent. By 2009, Shelter argued the programme had made “substantial progress in … creating neighbourhoods and communities in which people want to live”.
Since 2011, there has been little dedicated funding for regeneration and estate renewal. In theory, the Affordable Homes Programme can be used, but the rules are complex to navigate and disincentivise the regeneration of estates that either preserves or expands the provision of social rented homes. A lack of easily accessible public funding forces developers to rely on cross-subsidy, where high value properties are used to fund the construction of affordable homes. This has often led to a loss of ‘truly affordable’ homes, particularly in London.
However, the replacement for the Affordable Homes Programme is an opportunity to tackle the challenges facing housing replacement and regeneration. The £39bn announced in the Spending Review for social and affordable housing is a significant opportunity to improve rented housing quality, and unlock thousands of additional, decent homes.
Home Comforts, a Fabian Society report on tackling poor quality rented accommodation, sets out how.
The government should direct part of this funding to be spent specifically on replacing and regenerating homes across streets, flat blocks, and whole estates. And we recommended the government invest £470m a year over a decade, which would be equivalent in real terms to the final annual spending of the last Labour government’s Housing Market Renewal Programme.
At a minimum, all funded regeneration projects should be required to show no loss of homes, especially for social rent. In places of high land and property prices, as well as high private rents, these regeneration projects should be required to increase the number of homes through greater density – particularly for social rent.
Major housing replacement and regeneration schemes must benefit the people who live there. This requires resident and local policymaker engagement. And funding should be devolved to combined authorities and the Greater London Authority to deliver estate renewal, in partnership with local councils.
The government has rightly prioritised housebuilding, committing to build 1.5m net new homes this parliament. But existing homes need investment too. Both these goals can be achieved through estate regeneration. If the government gets this right, they can tackle the housing shortage and the housing quality crisis together.
Left Foot Forward doesn’t have the backing of big business or billionaires. We rely on the kind and generous support of ordinary people like you.
You can support hard-hitting journalism that holds the right to account, provides a forum for debate among progressives, and covers the stories the rest of the media ignore. Donate today.