Government blocks Lords’ amendments to Housing Bill

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The government has blocked nearly all amendments put forward by the House of Lords after the Housing and Planning Bill returned to the Commons…

The government’s Housing and Planning Bill has not had an easy ride. The Bill, which has just completed its turn through the House of Lords, was subjected to a number of amendments.

Having now returned to the House of Commons, the government has moved to block nearly all the amendments voted for by the Lords.

Housing Minister Brandon Lewis said the government would not “slow the pace of house building” but increase it. He said it plans to deliver upon the manifesto commitments made by the government last year, which included 200,000 starter homes.

Starter homes have been a thorn in the side for the government, receiving significant criticism—mostly for being unaffordable. However, the government remains committed to implementing this promise.

The Bill has been with the House of Lords since April, during which time a number of amendments were made, including the restriction of the 20 per cent discount on starter homes if the property is sold. Another amendment called for English planning authorities to “grant planning permission for a residential development having had regard to the provision of starter homes based on its own assessment of local housing need and viability”.

The House of Lords also passed amendments that would allow local authorities to decide whether to charge increased rents for those on higher incomes; raising the threshold for tenants considered to be on a higher income to £50,000 in London and £40,000 outside the capital; and granting only permission in principle for housing-led developments.

Lewis said he believed the threshold set by the Lords “totally undermines the principle that social housing tenants on higher incomes should start to contribute a fairer level of rent once they earn” more than £31,000 or £40,000 in the capital.

Lewis said starter homes must be sold to people “genuinely committed to living in an area” and should support mobility. He disagreed with the Lords’ amendment, proposing instead that the Secretary of State should make “regulations on the length of the taper period”.

The Bill is returned to the House of Lords yesterday. It will go back and forth between the Lords and Commons until an agreement is reached.

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