Two all-party groups of MPs have called on the government to act on creating genuinely affordable housing, as 14% of retail unit space and 7% of office space sit vacant
There is ‘significant potential’ for genuinely affordable housing in repurposing commercial properties to residential- providing there are safeguards in place to ensure that the homes delivered are of high quality and truly affordable.
The findings come from the All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs) for Housing Market and Delivery and for Ending Homelessness, after their joint inquiry in which MPs heard that from empty local authority buildings alone, there is the opportunity to create 20,000 more homes in England.
The MPs heard and reviewed evidence from housing and homelessness organisations, local government, developers and planning experts.
This does not include the potential for conversions from the empty commercial properties owned by the private sector. Overall, 14% of retail unit space and 7% of office space is currently vacant.
Three key areas for success were identified by witnesses:
Housing standards need to be strengthened
All conversions to be required to make contributions towards genuinely affordable housing to help meet local need and tackle homelessness
Clearer guidance on local housing and economic developments and how local authorities can influence them
Along with other recommendations, the groups are calling on the government to implement the ‘Healthy Homes Principles’ to ensure high quality homes.
These are a set of standards which would apply to all new housing, including conversions, and include access to amenities such as shops, schools, GPs, green spaces and transport, fire safety, access to natural light, and ensuring that homes are warm and well-ventilated to avoid damp and mould issues.
The government has already signalled its intent for all conversions to contribute towards genuinely affordable housing through the Levelling Up Bill, but the MPs are calling for the measures to be brought forward to deliver benefits in the immediate term.
Finally, the groups are calling for clearer guidance on ways in which local authorities can have greater influence over the types of conversions that take place in their area, to ensure that they align with local housing and economic development plans.
Witnesses agreed that further government action was required in these specific areas to prevent repeats of poor-quality development that have been seen in the past.
Greater transparency with housing figures will be part of the process
Ben Everitt, chair of the APPG for Housing Market and Delivery, said: “We wanted to look at creative housing supply solutions that are available in the short-term and hope that the Government will take forward our recommendations, which are both practical and pragmatic.
“This includes publishing data on the number of commercial properties that have been vacant for over two years and requiring local authorities to report on vacant buildings in their local areas. This would establish a clear picture of the potential scale of empty commercial properties which could be converted into affordable housing which is so desperately needed.”
Bob Blackman, co-chair of the APPG for Ending Homelessness, said: “The report comes against a backdrop of a severe shortage of affordable housing, which is a core driver of homelessness. We have heard from witnesses that there is significant scope to repurpose empty buildings to help ease the housing crisis. Taken together, the recommendations from this inquiry will ensure that conversions are of high quality and contribute to creating places people want to live, rather than making the housing and homelessness crisis worse.”
Collaboration could be key to delivering genuinely affordable housing
Florence Eshalomi, co-chair of the APPG for Ending Homelessness, said: “We heard that conversions are best done when they are collaborative, particularly with the involvement of local authorities, housing associations and other socially minded organisations.
“To enable not for profit and community-led organisations to make use of the potential to convert empty commercial property into residential use, both APPGs would support methods to incentivise high-quality and consortia approaches.”
You can read the APPG report on creating genuinely affordable housing here.
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