In February 2024, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Michael Gove, released a statement on the upcoming changes and developments to new housing in the United Kingdom.
Mr Gove announced plans for more houses to be built in areas that needed it more, including inner cities. There were also a lot more developments regarding new-build housing in London – that can benefit from a new-build structural warranty – support for SME housebuilders, short-term lets, public sector land, and more.
To find out about all of the upcoming changes to new housing developments in the UK, continue reading below.
Changes to Permitted Development Rights
The first set of exciting changes to housing, announced by Mr Gove, relates to commercial property. New planning freedoms are being put in place to allow more commercial buildings to be converted into residential properties. This new change should result in thousands more homes being built by 2030.
There are also changes for homeowner’s building extensions. The proposal would make it easier to plan and build an extension as well as allow for larger loft conversions, flexible extensions, bike stores, the installation of heat pumps and electric vehicle charging ports. This should, hopefully, free homeowners from the difficult process of moving through planning permission.
Housing Changes in London
Mr Gove states that £50 million will be invested by the government to ‘unlock’ new homes in the capital. There is an aim to create 8000 new homes in East and South London with £125 million loan funding from the Home Building Fund Infrastructure Loans portfolio and Long-Term Fund. There are also discussions with the London Borough of Camden to explore new housing in Euston, which is backed by £4 million of funding.
Small and Medium-Sized Housebuilders
Mr Gove has stated that the government are determined to support SME housebuilders and, as such, has expanded the £ 1 billion ENABLE Build guarantee scheme in order to increase the amount of finance available to SMEs. This covers loans issued by non-bank lenders and seeded portfolios. SME land access is also a key target as the government has introduced SME-only sales of Homes England land. Pilots are starting in the south-east and the Midlands in late 2024 which should, hopefully, develop a pipeline of small sites.
So, if you’re an SME housebuilder, these changes that will be implemented at some point in 2024 can benefit you greatly. With more funding and increased SME-only sales of land, there’ll be greater opportunities to develop property.
Public Sector Land
The government are in discussions with the Department of Transport, the Ministry of Defence and the Department for Health and Social Care regarding public land to be used for housing. Thus far, the aforementioned departments have pledged to release government-owned land for at least 15,000 homes before the end of March 2025.
While this is welcome, 15,000 homes will only scratch the surface of what is required to solve the housing crisis in England. Fortunately, Mr Gove has also announced that a task force is being implemented to ensure accelerated delivery of houses and freed land over the long term.
Changes to Short-Term Lets
While all of the above is being actioned to help new homes, Mr Gove states that the government are concerned about their current crop of houses, especially short-term lets, such as properties used for Airbnb.
The UK government believe that short-term lets can offer benefits for visitors to the UK, or people travelling within the country, but they also can cause some concern. The government believe that short-term lets are having uncontrolled growth, especially in coastal and tourist areas which are not only affecting the affordability and availability of homes for local residents, but it also makes it difficult to monitor compliance with health and safety regulations. In some cases, short-term lets have been known to cause nuisance issues for local residents.
In a bid to improve the situation, Mr Gove has stated that he’s determined to introduce a short-term let register as well as planning measures to provide local areas with more control over future growth. Hopefully, there should then be the right balance between protecting local communities and allowing for short-term lets to thrive.
There are also changes for people who want to let out their main home for a short length of time. The UK government want to provide flexibility to homeowners so that they can do this without applying for planning permission, thus making the process easier.
Mr Gove stated that the plans will be implemented in the summer months of 2024. This includes the registration of short-term lets in which they’d prefer it to be a low-cost and simple scheme for property owners to join.
Guidance on Second Staircase
The final part of the new changes announced for housing in the UK is about safety. As important as it is to build more, the UK government claim they are determined to build safely too.
In October 2023, new guidance relating to second staircases in new residential buildings being above 18 metres was announced. Gove has stated that the Building Safety Regulator will publish new guidance on second staircases before April. This should make it clear that new multi-occupancy residential buildings have a top occupied storey above 18 metres.
It is believed that a second staircase should give new buildings resilience to support exit from a building as well as enhanced options for tackling a fire in the event of a serious incident. Hopefully, this change to safety standards will help improve safety measures for existing buildings, and provide confidence for the safety of newly-built homes.
Summary
This update from Mr Gove is a welcome one to many developers in the UK, especially SME housebuilders and those wanting to build an extension onto their existing homes. Further details will be outlined later in the year so keep an eye out if any of the above changes relate to your situation.