Freedom Central » housing

Successive Labour governments have failed to tackle the housing crisis

Freedom Central — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 05:44:37 +0000

The Welsh Liberal Democrat Shadow Minister for Housing, Peter Black has commented on Welsh Government figures showing the number of homeless households in Wales between July and September 2011 increased by 15 per cent on the same time last year.

These figures also show that the use of temporary accommodation has continued to increase since December 2009. At the end of September 2011, there were 2,695 households in temporary accommodation, an increase of 2 per cent on September 2010.

There was an increase of 29 per cent of households having to use bed and breakfast accommodation when compared to the same period last year.

Peter said: “A staggering 1,845 households in Wales were categorised as homeless. Not only is this up 15% when compared to the same time in 2010, but it is an increase of 25% when compared to 2009.

“Homelessness levels are at their highest level since 2006, which is why the Welsh Liberal Democrats agreed for a further £18 million to be spent on housing in the budget negotiations. The Welsh Labour government should now work with housing associations to bring in extra private finance so that even more affordable homes can be built. We need many more new homes built, but only last week figures showed there has been a lull in new house building. Over the last decade successive Labour governments have failed to provide enough homes for the people of Wales. Their housing legacy is that of failure resulting in a huge housing shortage.

“The stats show there is still a constant stream of bed-and-breakfast accommodation being used to house homeless families, including a 7% increase of families with children. The impact of temporary housing on the health of these families, both physically and mentally, can be devastating.”

Lull in new house building will hit first time buyers hard

Peter Black — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 05:39:10 +0000

A drop in the number of new homes being started in Wales will keep prices at unaffordable levels and add to the problems of first time buyers.

During April to June 2011, 1,205 new dwellings were started, down by 31 per cent on the same quarter in 2010 and down by 7 per cent on the number started during April to June 2009.

The low level of starts over recent years has resulted in a significant decrease in completions. Numbers remained low for the first half of 2011-12, with the July to September 2011 quarter seeing the lowest number of completions ever recorded during a quarter (quarterly data was first recorded in January to March 1974).

Although there has been a very slight drop in house prices in Wales, this disappointing fall in both starts and completions will keep prices at unaffordable levels for many families, as demand continues to outstrip supply. It will add to the problems faced by first time buyers in getting onto the housing ladder.

The housing situation in Wales is desperate. The Welsh government has identified that there needs to be 14,200 new homes built each year of which 5,100 are affordable. Neither figure is being met. The number of new affordable homes in particular continues to drag along at about half what is needed.

There must be urgent action to help first time buyers through this crisis in particular, with the introduction of a deposit guarantee scheme in Wales, along the lines of that introduced in England.

We also need to urgently get on with the job of providing more affordable homes by actively using alternative funding methods such as bonds and building new homes at differing rent levels, so as to reflect the ability of potential tenants to pay. That would generate income streams that can then be used to increase the number of houses and flats that housing associations can build.

Empty Homes: A blight on the community and a wasted opportunity for thousands of families waiting for a home

Peter Black — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 06:24:17 +0000

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have today, called on the Welsh Labour Government to develop an empty homes strategy to ease the increasing demand for social housing in Wales.

Currently, there are approximately 26,000 private empty homes in Wales and they can contribute to anti-social behaviour such as vandalism, petty crime and arson, as well as creating a blight on local communities. Every empty home in Wales is also a wasted opportunity for the 87,000 households on waiting lists for social housing.

Today’s debate will call on the Welsh Government to allow councils greater flexibility to impose punitive council tax rates on long term empty homes, make representations to the UK government to reduce the rate of VAT on building repairs and explore the possibility of providing low cost loans to owners to encourage the re-development of empty homes as affordable housing for rent.

There are an estimated 26,000 long term empty properties in Wales. That’s the equivalent of an empty medium sized town, which is staggering given the relatively small size of our country.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have brought forward this debate and call for action after a decade of inaction by the Labour Government. Ever since the Assembly was established they have been talking about taking action on empty homes – but they so far have done nothing.

We are calling on the Government today to help bring more empty properties into use. It is absurd that we have so many empty homes waiting to be occupied and so many households on social housing waiting lists.

Helping owners make these into properties that people can live in, affordably, would make a huge difference to the people of Wales. It will help end homelessness, help young people onto the housing ladder and end the destructive nature of empty properties

Just introducing new legislation will not work. The Labour Government needs to provide the help and support for local councils to be able to offer recoverable loans to owners so they can bring the properties back into use. A joined up approach to social housing between the Welsh Government, local authorities, housing associations and owners can and will make all the difference to the lack of social housing in Wales.

Access to Welsh Social Housing is a postcode lottery

Freedom Central — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 09:02:06 +0000

The Western Mail highlight a crisis in social housing in Wales with fewer homes per 100 households than does England:

There are as few as 13 publicly-owned family homes for every 100 in some parts of Wales compared to an average of nearly 19 in England.

Conwy has the lowest proportion of homes at 12.77 for every 100 households, based on 2010 household estimates. The average in Wales in 18.23 socially-rented properties, compared to 18.76 in England.

In recent years, rising rents and lack of mortgage availability means demand has soared in some areas.

In Cardiff there are now more than 12,000 applicants waiting for social housing in the city, compared with about 6,500 two years ago.

A spokeswoman for Shelter Cymru said more affordable housing needed to be built to help those struggling with housing costs.

She said: “There is a long- standing shortage of affordable housing in Wales – the Cambridge Centre for Housing Planning and Research estimates that we need 4,000 below-market homes a year just to meet current demand – while cuts to housing benefit mean that much of the private rented sector will also be out of reach for many people.

“Most social housing is funded through capital grant so cuts in this area will seriously exacerbate the shortfall between affordable housing provision and need.

“We appreciate the pressures on public spending, but there is clear evidence to show that increasing capital housing investment actually assists economic recovery.”

“For example a study by Shelter in England calculated that every £1 of public investment in housing generated £3.51 of economic output, just in terms of the boost to the house building sector alone, and not including the wider social and economic impacts of housing investment.

“Shelter Cymru believes that a secure decent home is a fundamental right so we need to be imaginative in developing alternative funding models to ensure that we can provide the levels of affordable homes to meet the needs of people in Wales.”

Home repossession help ‘up 300%’

Freedom Central — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 11:55:17 +0000

The BBC report that the number of people needing help because they are threatened by home repossession has risen by 300% in the past three years.

They say that Shelter Cymru, which is preparing to mark its 30th anniversary, said Blaenau Gwent was the country’s worst area for repossession orders. This is followed by Merthyr Tydfil, Rhondda Cynon Taf and Caerphilly:

Shelter Cymru director John Puzey said: “We have seen a significant increase in the proportion of people coming to our services across Wales who are basically building up mortgage arrears.

“What our case workers are telling us is that the pattern seems to be people are finding all kinds of ways in which to they’re trying to keep up with their arrears.

“They’re using all their savings, they’re borrowing off mum and dad or friends. They’re even occasionally using credit cards… and they’re coming to us saying they’re running out of options.”

Shelter Cymru dealt with nearly 23,000 housing problems last year, a record number of which were due to people facing difficulty making mortgage payments.

In the last three years, the charity said it had witnessed a three-fold rise in the number of people needing their help who were facing home repossession.

It said it expected those figures to be reflected in official statistics in the coming year.

Mr Puzey said the charity’s research also suggested a strong relationship between mortgage arrears and unemployment.

Welsh Government is failing to deal with housing crisis says Assembly Member

Newswire — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 09:52:10 +0000

The Welsh Liberal Democrats Housing Spokesperson, Peter Black has called on the Welsh Government to do more to tackle the housing crisis facing Wales.

Speaking at the his party’s autumn conference in Wrexham yesterday, Mr. Black said too many people are struggling to get a home of their own.

“The House Builders Federation estimates that there are 100,000 Welsh families on housing waiting lists, with first-time buyers needing an average deposit of around £30,000.

They say that only 918 new homes were registered in the first three months of the year, compared to 1,120 last year, despite rises in housebuilding across the UK.

The Welsh Government’s own research says that we need 14,200 new homes in Wales each year of which 5,100 need to be affordable.

We have already fallen behind that target by 9,500 homes

The Welsh Government’s response has been pitiful.

They have cut the budget for new social housing and so far all we have had is a deafening silence on how they are going to tackle this crisis.

At least the One Wales Government had a target as to how many additional affordable homes they planned to build, even if they did fail to meet it.

Under Labour we are back to vague promises and hopeless inaction.

If we do not build new homes then we will not be able to bring prices down.

If we do not provide more homes for people to rent then they will remain in desperate need of a roof over their head that they can call their own.

If we do not put in additional help for first time buyers then they will never be able to afford a mortgage to secure their first home.

I recognise that public finances are tight but if we think outside of the box then we can start to tackle this problem.

There are 26,000 empty private sector homes in Wales that can be brought back into use but we are still waiting for the government to give us the leadership and the tools to deliver.

Proposals to raise £100 million of private finance for new affordable homes have been on the cards for years with little or no progress and now it seems that the Labour government has given up on this plan as well.”

Pembrokeshire coast park introduces single homes charge

Freedom Central — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 09:21:35 +0000

The BBC report that Pembrokeshire Coast National Park has introduced a levy on one-off housing developments, which will be used to help finance affordable housing.

They say that it will be be phased in over three years so that people building a three-bedroom home could eventually face a £25,000 charge. However, holiday homes are exempt from the charge:

There are currently about 400 people on the area’s housing waiting list and the park authority said it wants to see 530 new affordable homes by 2021.

From 1 October, one-off homes will also have to make a contribution by paying into a pot of money which will be used to finance local affordable housing.

Martina Dunne, head of development plans for the park authority, told BBC Radio Wales’ Eye on Wales: “If you understand that we’re asking for 50% affordable housing on sites of two or more in the national park, what we wanted to do was to be equitable in our approach and ask for a similar contribution from the smaller developments.”

Once it is being charged at its full rate, the fee for an average two-storey, three-bedroom home with a 100 square metres of floor space would be £25,000.

The policy is very similar to that introduced by the then Liberal Democrat controlled Ludlow Council at the height of the property boom. How it works in a property slump has yet to be seen.

Warning about quality of Welsh Council Houses

Freedom Central — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 09:17:21 +0000

A BBC report has found variations in the quality of Council housing across Wales and warns that the gap in standards will grow wider.

The programme Eye on Wales says that the 22 local authorities must find £3bn to bring estates up to the new Welsh Housing Quality Standard (WHQS) by 2012 and another £4bn to maintain it. Many tenants who have been transferred to a housing association are already seeing improvements, while some councils are struggling to raise funds.

Six local authorities have calculated that they can meet the Welsh Housing Quality Standard from their own resources, Wrexham, Swansea and the Vale of Glamorgan have rejected stock transfer packages that would have seen hundreds of millions of pounds invested in their housing stock, whilst the remaining 13 authorities are on track to deliver on that investment though most will miss the 2012 deadline.

Possible changes to housing tenure rules through a new Welsh Act could well pave the way for further ballots in the three authorities who have voted ‘no’, however in the meantime their tenants will be occupying homes that for the most part do not meet the Government’s standards.

Welsh Liberal Democrats to increase the supply of affordable housing in Wales

Freedom Central — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 04:56:28 +0000

South Wales West Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Candidates yesterday visited Coastal Housing Group in Swansea to highlight their commitment to better and more affordable housing in Wales and regenerating communities.

In their manifesto, the Welsh Liberal Democrats outline policies to

· Bring empty homes back into use with a Wales-wide Empty Homes Programme that will assist councils and housing associations to make use of empty homes.

· Bring more private money into housing by working with housing associations to restart the Welsh Housing Investment Trust.

· Protect any new social rented housing from being sold under the Right-to-Buy scheme for a minimum of 25 years in areas where this is needed.

· Strengthen the ability of councils to enforce their minimum level of affordable housing in new developments.

Coastal Housing is in the process of regenerating Swansea High Street by building an ‘urban village’. The Urban Village will be developed in phases with a series of new courtyard spaces linking shops, offices, food and drink outlets and 76 affordable apartments. The project is being developed in conjunction with Welsh Lib Dems-led Swansea council.

Peter Black, Welsh Liberal Democrat South Wales West Assembly Candidate and housing spokesperson said:

“The Labour-Plaid government has failed on community regeneration and housing and their attempt to build affordable homes has been condemned by report after report because they have not delivered improvements. They promised to increase the supply of affordable housing by 6,500 but they missed that target.

“I speak to many people who want to get on the property ladder but find it very difficult. We will only tackle the affordable housing crisis by increasing the number of homes in Wales, so that prices come down and more homes are available.”

Rob Speht, Swansea West Assembly Candidate said:

“There is a problem with access to affordable homes across Wales and I welcome what Coastal Housing is doing in Swansea High Street. This exciting development will increase the number of affordable apartments in Swansea and boost the regeneration of the area. The Welsh Liberal Democrats are committed to tackling the affordable housing crisis and seeing our town and cities regenerated.”

Help needed for first time buyers

Freedom Central — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 07:41:37 +0000

This morning’s Western Mail reports that a first-time buyer on an average wage would have to save for nearly three-and-a-half years to afford a deposit on the average flat or terraced home in Wales. And in some parts of Wales, average prices for such modestly sized homes are now more than seven times the average wage.

They say that ‘analysis of average house prices and median wages in all the constituencies in Wales suggest that with a gross median wage of £22,772, someone saving 15% of that a month would take three years and five months to save a 10% deposit on the average price of £117,050. The most difficult place to buy in Wales appears to be Ceredigion where average prices for flats and terraced houses at £140,045 are 7.25 times the median wage of £19,309. Someone on such a wage would have to save for 4.84 years for a 10% deposit.’

The Welsh Government have responded by referring to its Homebuy shared equity scheme, which supports people wanting to buy their own homes but which is under-resourced and difficult to access. The UK Government has launched its own FirstBuy scheme which the Assembly will get a Barnett consequential from. Will that money be used to reinforce WAG’s own measures? We will have to wait and see.