JULY 2015 – KEY PROPERTY ANNOUNCEMENTS

SOCIAL HOUSING

PAY TO STAY:

Social housing tenants with household incomes of £40,000 and above in London, and £30,000 and above in the rest of England, will be required to pay a market, or near market, rent for their accommodation.

The government aims to make such tenants pay a fair level of rent, or make way for those whose need is greater.

Local authorities will repay the rent subsidy that they recover from high income tenants to the Exchequer, contributing to deficit reduction. Housing Associations will be able to use the rent subsidy that they recover to reinvest in new housing. The government will consult on and set out the detail of this reform in due course.

REVIEW OF LIFETIME TENANCIES

The government will review the use of lifetime tenancies in social housing to limit their use and ensure that households are offered tenancies to match their needs. This should help ensure the best use is made of the social housing stock.

REDUCTION OF SOCIAL SECTOR RENTS

The government will reduce rents paid by tenants in social housing in England by 1% a year for four years from 2016-17 to 2019-20, reducing expenditure on housing benefit and universal credit.