Housing minister Mark Prisk has called on housing associations to build homes for private rent.
He said that social housing providers should ‘take that leap of faith’.
In a speech at the National Housing Federation’s annual conference, he said: “Housing associations already provide excellent services to their tenants, but have the potential to offer homes to a much wider group of people.”
His speech follows Sir Adrian Montague’s report into ways of encouraging institutional investment into the private rented sector, which called for the waiving of affordable housing requirements on ‘build to rent’ developments.
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Comments
I wonder if these Housing Ministers ever actually get out of their office and look at the problem they are attempting to solve?
Building more homes is not the solution, we do not have a shortage of housing stack we have a shortage of affordable housing.
Rents are high and in most places are way beyond the average wage once bills are taking into account.
we have millions of empty homes across the UK that with a bit of work and a lot less funds than building a new house, could be brought up to a good standard and rented at reasonable prices.
This would solve multiple problems and bulders would not be left trying to recoupe millions from a build that no one can afford to buy.
I agree with Roberts comments above
Without relevant qualification or experience here we have another Housing Minister making suggestions to solve a problem neither he nor his advisors obviously understand. Mr Prisk might be RICS but that doesn't automatically give him an understanding of Property Management and Lettings. The ingrained methodology of the Housing Department or CLG back offices does not change with a change of government minister and so we will continue to get these daft suggestions.
There is a very simple solution to the shortage of accommodation but it requires each business and industry to do what it is good at, its own business or industry! Each should not try to be all knowledgeable about everything. Investors should be allowed to invest, Lenders to Lend, Builders to build, Landlords to Let, Managers to Manage and Tenants to rent.
I can put an exact date on when thing started to go belly upwards and have watched with increasing dismay as a series of ministers have tried to solve a problem of their predecessors making. With the root of the problem now over 5 years old we are now attempting to provide a solution to a sub issue created by the previous and unrelated sub issue. Simply bonkers!
Mr Prisk is now suggesting that Housing Association provide Homes for private rent? Private rental provision is not the problem. Yes there is demand for further private provision but allowing Professional Landlords to provide that accommodation through intelligent lending solves that in an instant. The real problem is assisted rented accommodation, there is not enough social provision and providing more Private, albeit disguised as social provision won’t solve that without a bit more rational thought.
Providing private rented accommodation through Housing Associations will simply help disguise the fact that there are wealthy and less wealthy people who provide homes for others to live in. There should not be a stigma to renting, but this suggestion simply reinforces the message that there is.