Four in five local councils do not believe that discounted starter homes should be classed as affordable housing, and only 7% feel that they will address the need for affordable homes in their area, according to a survey.
The starter homes scheme, which is a central part of the government’s housing policy, allows developers to replace shared ownership and affordable rented homes with properties sold at a 20% discount on the market rate.
The Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) contacted 353 councils in England to find out what they thought of the scheme and other changes involving right to buy and social rents.
Of the 105 that responded, which included a mixture of councils under Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat control, 59% said the need for affordable homes in their area was severe.
Among respondents, 87% said starter homes would not address that need and 79% said they did not think that starter homes should be classified as affordable.
The government’s plan to reduce social rents by 1% a year for the next four years were found to have had an impact on many councils’ plans to build, with 69% saying they would create fewer social and affordable homes as a result.
Plans to extend right to buy to housing association properties would also mean fewer homes available for social rents, according to 90% of respondents.
The figures come as the housing bill is scheduled for debate in the House of Lords. The plans for starter homes have been criticised by a number of groups, including the Local Government Association, which found that they would be out of reach to many would-be buyers.
On Monday, the campaign group Generation Rent described the policy as a “£27bn raffle”. While the first buyers could make more than £140,000 each from their purchase, 2 million households would still be locked out of the market.
The chief executive of the TCPA, Kate Henderson, said: “Low-cost homeownership, such as starter homes, may help some people get a first step on the housing ladder, but as the survey of councils highlights, this will not address the need for genuinely affordable homes.
“We need a housing strategy for the nation that provides decent homes for everyone in society, including those most in need in the current housing crisis.”
The shadow housing minister, John Healey, said the survey results were further evidence of growing cross-party opposition to the housing bill, adding that ministers should “rethink their damaging plans”.
“Labour and Conservatives councils are united in their belief that government housing policies are failing, with fewer genuinely affordable homes being built and so-called starter homes a huge let-down for families and first-time buyers,” he said.
“It is a damning assessment of Conservative policy from the organisations that will have to deliver it.”
