Memorandum by Ann Petherick, Living Over
The Shop (AH 82)
1. NEED FOR
TENURE BALANCE
1.1 I appreciate that it is intended to
set up a further enquiry which will examine rented housing. Nevertheless
I am concerned that, although the subject of your enquiry is supposedly
tenure-neutral, the overwhelming emphasis is on ownership. For
example, of the ten points of reference listed, eight are solely
concerned with housing for sale, and the remaining two are neutral.
1.2 I contend that rented housing in addition
to ownership is essential to create balanced and sustainable communities,
and that this should be considered on an equal basis alongside
ownership.
2. NEED FOR
AN INTERMEDIATE
RENTED MARKET
2.1 My primary concern, as founder of the
LIVING OVER THE SHOP initiative, has long been with the provision
of rented housing for those who are neither eligible for social
housing nor have the ability to pay a free-market rent. My understanding
is that this is the group for whom housing associations were originally
set up in the 1960s. Now that associations are providing only
social rented housing or ownership schemes, such as shared and
low-cost, there is very little provision for this intermediate
group.
2.2 This is particularly serious as, in
a great many towns, the difference between a social and a market
rent may be 100% or more. This applies not just in the south-east
but also to my knowledge in many small and large towns in the
north & midlands. The resulting housing polarisation is undesirable
in social terms.
3. AFFORDABILITY
3.1 I am also concerned at the confused
and confusing terminology which is regularly used in the housing
world. For example, the ubiquitous word "affordable",
which is nowhere defined and which I know to be used by many different
people to mean different things. If the word means anything at
all, it means sub-market. In order for housing to be sold or rented
at a sub-market price, it has to be subsidised in some way. I
would like to see housing professionals using the accurate terminology,
as it would then lead to an assessment of where the subsidy is
going to come from.
3.2 Despite all the emphasis on affordability,
there appears to be little attempt to make explicit the means
by which the housing will remain affordable in the long-term.
No matter how cheaply housing is built, if it is sold on the open
market it will be sold at the highest price someone is prepared
to pay, and the only long-term beneficiary will be the first purchaser.
If the housing has been provided with grant or other developer
incentives, the long-term benefit of these to a wider public will
be lost.
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