Tory housing policy eight months from completion

Speaking at this week's Conservative party conference in Blackpool, shadow housing and local government minister Nigel Waterson criticised housing minister Nick Raynsford for embracing "absurd" policies which could "create tremendous imbalances and unfairness".

Waterson condemned Raynsford's emphasis on choice in allocations (Housing Today, 23 September).

He said: "It is the height of absurdity to talk about allocations in the way Raynsford is doing - this idea about choice. In many areas of the north there is already much choice. It is a nonsense."

He also criticised any moves to link rent and house capital values arguing "there are regional differences between in wages but they are not nearly as large as differences in property values".

Capital value rents, he said, would increase the poverty trap.

Acknowledging that none of the party's 60 pledges contained in the Conservative's Common Sense Revolution document was specifically about housing, Waterson said the housing policy would not be finalised for another eight months.

But he said he wanted to see "less of a Berlin wall between social and private housing."

And he revealed that the party was considering giving long-term tenants an equity interest in their properties.

He said: "We are looking at a revamped and more refined version of right to buy and a way of converting rent into equity. Low cost home ownership has been very successful and we need to build on that so that people are not trapped in renting."

Earlier this year shadow environment, transport and regional affairs John Redwood suggested owner occupancy rates should be increased to 80 per cent in Conservative plans for the Right to Buy (Housing Today, 8 July).

But the Chartered Institute of Housing said the Conservatives were in danger of repeating past mistakes.

Policy manager David Fotheringham said: "Rent to mortgage schemes have not been a success and there is a danger they are going down a road that has already failed."