Over 18 months the Smith Institute supported the independent Affordable Housing Commission has undertaken a wide-ranging review of housing affordability in England. The final report has over 50 recommendations and calls for a collective effort, led by government, to rebalance the housing system to make housing affordable again.
The in-depth analysis and proposals seek to inform, engage and influence the housing world, politicians and policy makers, as well as the wider public and others who are affected, including local government, business, and the voluntary sector.
The Affordable Housing Commission calls on government:
- to rebalance the housing system to provide affordable housing opportunities for all by 2045;
- to make affordable housing a national priority and to put it at the centre of a national housing strategy;
- to adopt a new definition and measures of housing affordability, which relate to people’s income and circumstances;
- to increase investment in new social housing, alongside reforms to help rebalance the system away from the private rented sector to social housing;
- to constrain rent increases, end Affordable Rent and reform the right to buy;
- to support first-time buyers stuck in the private rented sector by levelling the mortgage market, providing targeted support for deposits and increasing supply; and
- to improve the safety net for struggling renters and home owners, and to bring all homes up to a safe and decent standard.
To read the final report and an updated report which looks at the issue within the coronavirus crisis context, please visit: www.affordablehousingcommission.org