The Community Housing Sector

Proposition

The community housing sector should be a significant contributor to the Government’s ambitions for Localism; planning, building and managing housing of all kinds and affordability levels that meets local needs and demands. The sector includes cooperatives, mutuals, co-housing, self-build, development trusts, and community land trusts. They have been the inspiration for the proposed Neighbourhood Plans and Community Right to Build. The sector has a strong track record over 40 years of co-producing well designed and managed places, with high levels of resident and neighbour satisfaction.

Key points of argument

Current policy objectives

The community housing sector will be important to two of the Housing Minister’s policy aims:

"We will become a nation of homebuilders"

The Minister originally described his idea of the Community Right to Build, as 'a rural housing revolution (that) will give people the power to expand their villages up to 10% over 10 years.' This may include accommodation for the old, affordable homes for the young, shops, schools, and GP surgeries. With a 'power to bypass planning committees’, he hoped that ‘people (will) at last (be) really shaping their own communities..' The Localism Bill extends the Right to Build to urban areas.

Local initiative in providing a wider and richer range of housing choices can lead to greater community support for new housing, and offer better housing solutions to individuals.

In January, this year, the Minister launched a Government-Industry Self Build Working Group1 to make recommendations about how to increase output from the whole sector, both from individuals and group schemes.

"We need a market that’s boring (and) really quite predictable."

In October 2010, the Minister said: 'We've all forgotten what our housing market is actually for… to provide a home. Buying a home shouldn't be like playing the lottery.'2 Taking the speculative element out of land and housing markets would help calm house prices, and contribute to greater affordability for everyone; owners, tenants and housing benefit costs.

Residents in Community Land Trusts voluntarily 'tax' themselves by forgoing any speculative or inflationary uplift in the land value element of their equity, to ensure their homes remain affordable in perpetuity for the benefit of their local community. Existing planning policy3 was always intended to achieve this, but rarely does (see: "Land For Homes", The Housing Forum, 2009
).

What community housing can do

Maintain and grow a more resilient supply of new homes

The sector has a stronger growth potential than is commonly supposed. Research in 20014 estimated self-provided housing output in 1999 at about 15000 homes, and 8% total production. Analysis of government statistics by CABE5 suggests that output might have reached nearly 20000 in 2007. In recessions, self-provided output has held up, either in absolute terms or in relation to mainstream supply.

Support more efficient and fairer housing markets

In countries with a significant community housing sector, self-provided housing is most accessible to middle income families, but this is an indirect but significant help to the less well off. Housing price cycles are less acute, and polarisation by tenure is less marked. There is greater price competition with mainstream housing providers, with lower prices generally, and thus greater ability to match outgoings to income, greater social security, and greater labour mobility6 .

Case Study

Cornwall Community Land Trust (CLT) Programme

The Carnegie UK Trust acted as pump primer, with enabling funding and a dedicated project manager, to establish a countywide programme of CLTs, providing homes for sale at prices affordable to local working people; typically around £120,000.

Since 2007, village communities have built up a programme of over 180 homes to be completed by 2012; many selling at about one third of open market values.

The project has succeeded through pro-active partnership working between district and parish councils, local landowners willing to give land or sell it at low prices, the Cornish Rural Housing Association, and small amounts of public grant from councils and the Homes and Communities Agency.

Urban communities are exploring ways of providing homes for themselves, in partnership with mainstream developers, house builders and housing associations. The Confederation of Cooperative Housing is proposing to launch a £250m bond issue to develop a national programme of cooperative housing with English councils.

 

Key Messages

To central government and its agencies on genuinely working with local people

"Put simply, we want to make the (government's) programmes fit the place, rather than adapting places to fit programmes. We’re seeking to instigate a holistic approach to placemaking that embeds design, sustainability and community engagement in the process of setting investment priorities and ambitions." Sir Bob Kerslake, former CEO HCA, now Permanent Secretary, CLG in Rudi.net online interview 23/2/10 Juliana O’Rourke7

and/or

"You can find flexible solutions for unique places, and still preserve their character, by giving the community a leading role in shaping their future. This is the essence of the localism agenda and fundamental to the HCA's new investment and enabling role." Pat Ritchie, Interim CEO HCA in 'New broom…new direction' Inside Housing 12/11/108

But remember, in the world of the Big Society communities bring their own skills, expertise, ideas, time, purpose and leadership; they are not given them!

To central government on supporting policy development for the sector

Government data collection on housing supply, especially on community housing, needs to be made more efficient, consistent and accurate, so that it can inform national and local policy.

To local politicians and planners

Community housing, and its social organisation, can deliver the kind of spatial planning and placemaking outcomes that could and should be material considerations in all planning applications:

  • Genuine affordability for all incomes and tenures
  • Value for money in development and management
  • Community membership and ownership
  • Long term democratic stewardship of places
  • Life in the space between the buildings
  • Social capital for the care of people and place
  • High levels of resident satisfaction, wellbeing and happiness
  • Sustainable living and climate change resilience

To all politicians and public servants

Landowners are willing to give land for the benefit of their community, or sell it at a price that reflects what local people can afford to pay provided there are safeguards that stop others profiting at their expense.9

Signposts

1. Contacts for the community housing sector

The membership of the Mutual Housing Groups includes all the principal demand side bodies:

  • Commission for Cooperative and Mutual Housing
  • Confederation of Cooperative Housing
  • National Community Land Trust Network (Carnegie Trust/NHF)
  • UK Cohousing Network
  • National Self Build Association
  • Community Self Build Agency
  • Locality (formerly Development Trusts Association and BASSAC)
  • Cooperatives UK
  • Community Gateway Associations
  • National Federation of TMOs

2. Contacts for enabling bodies

  • CLG [Localism Bill links plus Community Empowerment Programme]
  • HCA [Hopefully Community Housing Guidance if/when finished]
  • RICS [including Land and Society Commission]
  • NHF
  • NSBRC
  • HBF/HBA [TBC]?
  • Good Homes Alliance
  • CABE successor body/ies

3. Other Good Practice and Case Studies