Sector slams Conservatives completely deficient housing plans

The proposals form a central plank of the party’s housing policy, launched on Wednesday by Tory leader Michael Howard, John Hayes, the shadow housing minister, and Caroline Spelman, shadow secretary of state for local and devolved government.

The Tories would plough half the housing budget into shared-equity schemes and give funds raised from right to buy sales to social housing tenants who want to buy in the private market (HT 8 October, page 10).

The party would also give housing association tenants the right to buy – a policy that Hayes dismissed just a fortnight ago.

The announcement follows two months of consultation.

Merron Simpson, head of policy at the Chartered Institute of Housing, said: “From looking at this policy you would think social housing was all about homeownership. There is nothing on homelessness and nothing on decent homes.

“All this policy would do is marginalise the least well off, keeping them in the worst places, while enabling the best off to buy homes.”

Jim Coulter, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, accused the Tories of being “completely deficient in addressing the critical housing shortages in many parts of the country”.

He said: “[The Tories] sidestep the need for more sustainable homes for key workers and all sections of the community.

“There is an unbalanced emphasis on the right to buy and shared ownership without a full economic assessment or calculation of the [cost to the] public sector and housing association finances.

“More vigorous costings are required from the Tory party.”

He continued: “Whoever wins the next election will need to develop a positive approach to flexible tenure to meet people needs and aspirations.

“But they cannot avoid the crisis of dysfunctional housing markets and regeneration needs.”