Starter Homes: Manifesto Commitment
We will build 200,000
Starter Homes and more
affordable housing
We will build 200,000 quality
Starter Homes over the course of
the next Parliament, reserved for
first-time buyers under 40 and sold
at 20 per cent below the market
price.
The Conservative Party Manifesto 2015, Page 52
Rationale and demand
• Home ownership declining: Proportion of homeowners under 40 in England
has declined by over a third from 62% in 1993/4 to 39% in 2013/14
• First time buyer affordability declining: Average house price to earnings
ratio for successful first time buyers in 2014 was 4.3, compared to 2.7 in 1993
• Strong preference for home ownership: 86% of people say want to own a
home as it is a “good investment” (26%) and more secure than renting (23%)
• Strong demand for Starter Homes: over 69,000 first time buyers have so far
expressed an interest in Starter Homes on national demand ‘register’
Background & milestones to date
January 2016
• Additional £1.2bn fund to build 30,000
affordable ‘starter homes’ on
underused brownfield land by 2020
March 2015
• New brownfield
exception site policy
• To be built on underused or unviable
commercial and
industrial sites
May 2015
• Manifesto Commitment to
build 200,000 Starter
Homes
July 2015
Productivity Plan commits to:
• stronger, wider exception
policy
• minimum % of Starter
Homes on all ‘reasonably
sized’ sites
December 2015
• Consultation on
changes to NPPF, incl.
widening definition of
affordable housing to
include Starter Homes
Starter Homes
• For first time buyers
under 40
• 20% below market
price, costing no more
than £450,000 (London)
& £250,000 (elsewhere)
• 5 year resale and
lettings restriction
• Market product –
assumption of no
public subsidy
August 2015
• Rural Productivity Plan: Starter Homes
allowed on Rural Exception Sites
• Announced £36m fund to kick start
Starter Home development working
with HCA, GLA & councils
November 2015
• Chancellor announces
£2.3bn funding
programme for Starter
Homes
October 2015
• PM announces
intention to consult on
wider Affordable
Housing definition to
include Starter Homes
• First clause of
Housing Bill - duty on
councils to promote
Starter Homes
Starter Homes
 Starter Homes exempt from Community
Infrastructure Levy and s106 affordable housing
contributions
 Proposed changes to NPPF:
 Expand ‘exception site’ policy to include other
types of underused or unviable brownfield
land – retail, leisure and institutional uses
 Expand definition of affordable housing to
include Starter Homes
 Enable Neighbourhood Plans to designate
land for Starter Homes
 £2.3 billion funding to support delivery of up to
60,000 starter homes by 2020/21, to complement
the planning reforms
 Support implementation through Starter Homes
Champions, Help to Buy agents
Housing and Planning Bill –
Starter Homes provisions

Bill progressing through Parliament- currently in House of Lords

Seven clauses:
o Legal definition for Starter Homes
o Define who can purchase
o Set price caps – and allow these to be varied by regulation
o Place duty on Local Authorities to promote Starter Homes in their area
– including that Starter Homes are built on all ‘reasonably sized sites’
(details to be provided in secondary legislation)
o Require Local Authorities to report progress through Annual Monitoring
o Enable Government to issue ‘compliance direction’ where Local
Authorities don’t meet their statutory duty
Next Steps

NPPF consultation closes 22 February – announce outcome later in 2016

Housing and Planning Bill now in the House of Lords – finalise by Summer

Publish consultation on secondary legislation on ‘reasonably sized sites’
threshold – March 2016

Publish Starter Homes Land Fund prospectus – March 2016

Ongoing engagement with lenders, house builders and Local Authorities to
galvanise support and identify larger scale delivery and partnership working

Prepare and publicise ‘scheme designs’ for Lenders,
Local Authorities and house builders – by Summer
Discussion questions
1. What is the relationship with the planning system in
terms of:
a. Local plan preparation?
b. Planning decisions?
2. What Guidance is needed to help local authorities
take account of viability considerations for planmaking and decisions?
3. How can the impact of the new policy on the
preparation of local plans be minimised?