Queens Speech: Shared Ownership and more affordable homes

The Queen’s Speech today outlined the government’s plans for housing, including a Planning White Paper, Single Housing Infrastructure and a consultation on discounted house prices for local people and key workers.

Over the next five years, the government has pledged that at least one million more homes will be built. In the coming months, steps on how to achieve this will be made known, including an ambitious Planning White Paper which aims to make the planning process clearer and more accessible for all users, including homeowners and small businesses.

There will also be a new £10 billion Single Housing Infrastructure fund which will provide the roads, schools and GP surgeries needed to support new homes.

The plans include a consultation on First Homes aiming to provide housing for local people and key workers at a discount of at least 30%. The discounts on these homes will be funded by developers and secured through an agreement to ensure that the homes remain discounted if they are sold on in the future.

A reformed Shared Ownership model will also be put forward, which the government says will make buying a share of a home fairer and more transparent. It will be simpler to understand and enable more Shared Owners to purchase more shares in their home through the staircasing process, eventually reaching full ownership.

The government has published the following figures:

• Annual net additions to the housing stock in England reached over 241,000 in 2018-19, the highest in over 30 years.
• Since 2010, 464,500 new affordable homes have been built including over 331,800 affordable homes for rent.
• Through the Housing Infrastructure Fund, the government has allocated £3.07 billion to unlock over 280,000 homes.