Autumn Budget 2024

The key housing-related announcements from the Autumn 2024 Budget are as follows:

Affordable housing

A further £500m has been allocated to the Affordable Homes Programme which it is anticipated will fund up to 5,000 new homes. A long-term plan for affordable housing supply will be produced as part of the next spending review.

Social housing rent

The budget announced plans to consult on a 5-year rent settlement programme whereby social landlords would be permitted to raise rents annually by up to CPI+1%. It also announced a planned consultation on whether it would be desirable to have longer-term settlement policies (e.g. a 10-year rent settlement scheme).

Right to Buy

The budget announced that discounts for RTB sales would be reduced. The necessary secondary legislation was laid on the same day as the budget. The Housing (Right to Buy) (Limits on Discount) (England) Order 2024 (S.I.2024/1073) comes into force on 21 November 2024 and applies to all cases where notice under s.122, Housing Act 1985 is served on or after that date. The order sets maximum discounts on a regional basis, ranging from £16,000 (most of London) to £38,000 (south east of England). Reforms will also be introduced to allow councils to retain the whole of the RTB sale price for each property.

Build to rent

£3bn in government guarantees is to be made available to support small and medium sized developers in the “build to rent” sector.

Mortgage guarantee scheme

The government will start consultations with mortgage lenders with a view to establishing a new mortgage guarantee scheme as part of the next spending review.

Fire safety

A further £1bn will be made available to assist with the costs of remediating fire safety defects in affected blocks of flats in both the private and social sectors.

Oliver Kew

Published on 05/11/2024