This is a timely moment to convene a discussion about housing. The Chancellor's pre-budget report set out a number of measures for both house-owners and those in the rental sector, while new governance structures are now in place, with the official launch of the Homes and Communities Agency and the Tenants Services Authority on 1 December. We brought together experts from every part of the housing field to discuss where we are now – and where we are heading.
Funding
Next year is the 60th anniversary of Aneurin Bevan's housing act. For many participants at our roundtable, there was a sense of back to the future: even then, there was a recognition of the importance of good quality housing for improvements in health, educational attainment and crime rates.
But for decades, social housing has suffered from underinvestment and the consequences of Margaret Thatcher's right to buy policy. There are simply not enough good quality homes to go round.
In recent years, the government has recognised this. It has ambitious targets to build 3m more homes by 2020, create eco-towns and modernise existing social housing. Yet these initiatives only scratch the surface of the problem.
Although the pre-budget report seemed like good news for housing, promising £1.8bn of spending, much of this money was, in reality, already earmarked and there are concerns that only minimal new funding has been made available.
"Initially, £1.8bn sounded attractive," noted one of our participants – but break it down and it becomes clear that in fact, there is only £150m for new social housing – and even this is just money that's been brought forward from future spending plans.
As a result, there was a lot of nervousness around the table at the impact on the next spending review and the prospects for social housing.
But beware discussing the issues facing social housing in isolation. "There's no point looking at this solely in terms of its impact on social housing," cautioned one participant. "The government has to address a number of issues simultaneously: stopping further repossessions of homes, getting the banks lending again and ensuring capacity in the construction industry is maintained during the downturn."
Solutions
The economic downturn means the fledgling Homes and Community Agency will have to focus on a smaller number of priority housing schemes.
A range of new finance mechanisms were discussed. Equity stakes might allow more money to be raised, but there would be no guarantee that the proceeds when stock is sold would be reinvested in housing. "We shouldn't lose sight of the fact that housing associations have been a good reservoir of funding, which has been ploughed back and not dispersed into the private sector." The danger of equity sales is that they "suck the value" out of projects.
But housing associations have been badly hit by the collapse in equity prices and a number have had losses from investments in Icelandic banks.
New funding mechanisms were discussed. The public sector needs to take on more responsibility for kickstarting liquidity. It should look at entering joint ventures or limited liability companies with the private sector.
Others wanted to go further, advocating the creation of a local authority sponsored mutual fund that would invest in local projects.
As 70% of homes are owner occupied, initiatives must galvanise the whole housing market, not just a part of it. "The size of the market will determine what's possible in the social sector." So the public sector needs to support the recovery of the owner/occupier market as well as how to stimulate social housing.
What about finding some fiscal incentives? Construction firms could have capital gains tax breaks as they do in Germany, to get involved in long-term building programmes.
Stock
The main issue facing social housing is overcrowding and undersupply. Waiting lists are long, people are squeezing into cramped homes and hardly anyone leaves social housing. At the same time, the construction industry is shrinking, so new homes are not being built.
Although there are many empty homes that could be used, if local authorities were to seize them through empty dwelling management orders, they would have to bring them up to decent homes standards before they could be used for social housing and that could cost two thirds more than if they simply built new homes.
Several speakers voiced concerns that as the financial climate degenerates, the people who will really feel the pinch will be tenants, as landlords cut community services, support for the most vulnerable and initiatives to tackle anti-social behaviour.
Solutions
The answer has to be mixed use housing, the roundtable agreed. "We do not want to replicate the apartheid of separate dwellings."
Councils can do much more – some authorities are working with their planning departments to make better use of their land for social housing, but this is not happening everywhere, even though local authorities are the third biggest landowners in the country.
There ought to be a greater role for the private sector too, some argued. Is there not a case for reinventing the rental sector - what about low cost tenancies with reputable larger private sector landlords or some sort of "community ownership" model for those on middle to low incomes? Some of the banks are already beginning to offer sale and leaseback or shared ownership models rather than forcibly repossess homes. "There's a case for a range of products that fill the gap between social housing and owning your home," one participant said.
Care needs to be taken about the impact this has on tenures. Private sector rents tend to be six-month agreements, whereas social housing provides assured tenancy rights. Do tenancies need to be for ever? There could be more flexible approaches – but some asked whether the idea of a tenancy for life isn't the linchpin of social housing.
Perhaps the government could find fiscal incentives to encourage the use of property rather than let it moulder.
Attendees
Gideon Amos, chief executive, Town and Country Planning Association; Steve Amos, director of structured finance, Barclays Bank Plc; Anna Bawden, assistant editor, Guardian Public; Kellie Beirne, housing strategy manager, Torfaen County Borough Council; Nic Bliss, chairman of the Confederation of Cooperative Housing; Richard Capie, director of policy and practice, Chartered Institute of Housing; Kate Davies, chief executive, Notting Hill Homes Partnership; Richard Donnell, director of research, Hometrack; Jane Dudman (chair), acting editor, Guardian Public; Terry Edis, chairman, National Federation of Tenant Management Organisations; Roger Harding, senior policy and public affairs, Joseph Rowntree Foundation; Ian Keys, external affairs director, Pinnacle PSG; Martyn Kingsford, honorary policy adviser, Tenants and Residents Organisations of England; Chris Leslie, director, NLGN; Cllr Chris Naylor, executive member for housing, Camden Council; Michael Owen, chief executive, Carrick Housing Limited; Liz Peace, chief executive, British Property Federation; Nick Raynsford, MP for Greenwich and Woolwich; Adam Sampson, chief executive, Shelter; Sarah Webb, chief executive, Chartered Institute of Housing
