My Lords, I draw the House’s attention to my interests as a vice-president of the LGA and a councillor on South Somerset District Council. I support all the amendments in this group, including those in the names of the noble Lords who have already spoken, and I will speak specifically to Amendments 56, 56A, 57A and 57C. This extremely important group of amendments will have far-reaching effects on communities throughout the country.
As indicated previously, I visited Exmoor National Park to talk to the chief executive. Exmoor has a population of 10,000 people and 5,500 homes actually in the park for those who can afford them. Exmoor National Park wants to provide homes for people who will never get mortgages or loans. Its focus has been on affordable homes for renting. All its new houses are intended to be affordable in perpetuity. It aims to build up its stock of homes to the level it was before the first round of right to buy depleted it. In recent years 100 homes have been provided and 200 people have been accommodated—its policy is working. Some 30% are privately rented or privately owned and 50% are socially rented, but all require a local tie or connection.
The Exmoor and Northumberland national parks are the most sparsely populated areas in the country, with very small settlements. Other national parks have larger settlements, where it is easier to provide affordable homes. The statistics are stark. Of the first tranche of right-to-buy sales, a majority have gone to outsiders and for holiday lets. In Lynmouth, in a row of terraced properties sold under the right to buy, only two are not now holiday lets and 20% of the properties have no usual residents. We must prevent this from happening a second time. In Northumberland the undersupply of affordable rented properties at rates related to average wages has led to a gradual decrease in housing. Hard evidence is difficult to obtain due to the paucity over nearly 30 years—young couples have just accepted that to get a home they have to leave the park area. However, when 30 homes were built in Norham, they were let to the relevant people in a morning, despite only four or five appearing on housing lists.
Incomes in Exmoor National Park are in the lower quartile for England, at around £12,000 for a household. Many people have no regular work. Their work is seasonal or portfolio work. The majority of people on the park are in work but on very low incomes. Affordable housing schemes are very popular. However, when rents went to 80% of market rents, people pulled out as they could not afford them; 80% is still unaffordable on Exmoor. The self-employed on Exmoor are nowhere near the living wage. Lambing is a good example of seasonal work which pays cash in hand. These people can never get mortgages due to their inability to prove a living wage over the relevant period of time. The “at least 20%” discount will need to be considerably more to assist these residents. A home at an affordable price of £130,000 would have to be discounted by nearly 30% to be truly affordable to the workers on the park.
Young people living on Exmoor are in dire straits. The park has conducted a survey to assess their housing needs. One young person felt that he did not have a housing need because he was able to sleep on the floor of a friend’s caravan. There has to be more to life for these young people. Residents, particularly young people who work on the land on Exmoor, need properties suitable for their lifestyles. They need somewhere to keep dogs, store their equipment and hang soaking wet waterproofs when they come in at night from lambing et cetera. Properties provided in the park for those who have a connection to the park, and are lucky enough to be housed, must be protected in perpetuity for those coming after them—not sold off at a profit to those seeking to make a quick turnover. New market homes must be the principal residence of the occupier and have to be lived in, and not a second home.
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New homes are the lifeblood of these very rural communities, as we have already heard. Twenty new homes at Wheddon Cross made a huge difference to the school. It is no fun at all if you are a child in a class where there is only one other child of your age group. Children need friends in order to thrive and develop, just as the rest of us do. New housing in isolated areas for local people is an essential, not a luxury. There has to be a small rolling stock coming forward. I support this amendment and have to ask the Minister just
what the Government’s view is for the future of rural England. What of the small farmers, the beaters, the shooters, the carers of the vulnerable, frail and elderly—just where will these people live?
Turning to Amendments 56A and 57C, I declare my interest as the chair of the National Community Land Trust Network, an organisation of communities based and led by residents keen to provide housing in their locality for those who cannot afford traditional open-market homes. The effect of the right to buy on the growing CLT movement is likely to be disastrous, hence it is important to achieve exemptions in the Bill. The 175 CLTs across England and Wales are run by local people to develop and manage homes as well as other important assets valued by communities. The very purpose of these CLTs is to develop homes that are affordable in perpetuity. These homes are not just to benefit one generation; they are intended to benefit every future occupier.
The right to buy, if extended to CLTs, would go against their basic aim. It would threaten the very existence of this small but vibrant community-led sector. Many CLTs are nervous that an exemption in a voluntary agreement leaves them vulnerable to coming under pressure to sell their homes. It is vital for the stability of this small but energetic sector that the Bill gives them the clarity and certainty they need to plan securely for the future. This should be in the Bill.
Farmers and local landowners have in the past, as we have heard, either donated their land or offered it for CLT schemes at well below the market value. This is unlikely to continue if they feel that the homes built will be sold off. Community support will also disappear if there is doubt whether the homes will be there for this and future generations looking for a home in their community.
The journey from the inception of the idea of a community-led scheme to the homes being occupied is only possible through the many hours given by volunteers from the community. It requires great patience and perseverance on the part of all those involved. At a single stroke, this commitment and hard work could all be swept aside and the aim of the organisation undermined by the right to buy.
Villages and urban neighbourhoods need younger people to remain there and not be forced to move away in order to be able to afford a home. Town or country local businesses will only thrive if there is a local workforce. The fabric of our communities is dependent on there being people from all walks of life. Too often we see villages becoming enclaves for the elderly, all experiencing decreasing mobility and increasing frailty. They need younger people to assist them in their daily lives and to maintain their dignity. They can do this only if they are living close by and not travelling out on a daily basis from the nearest town.
CLT developments usually provide a mix of tenures: some for affordable rents, some for shared ownership and some for sale at discounted prices. This mix of tenures is the lifeblood of communities which seek to provide for those in them who are less well off and to maintain a healthy balance among the residents.
I turn to Amendment 57A. It is not unreasonable for the grant paid to housing associations under the right to buy to be retained in the area where the original dwelling was situated, and for the proceeds of that sale to be reinvested in that area. That is particularly important when we are considering rurality. Where villages and hamlets are small but had local authority, council or social housing in the past, tenants took advantage of the first right-to-buy legislation—and who can blame them? However, that has resulted in a dwindling supply of homes in rural locations, to the point where many housing associations report that they have only two or three homes in some villages, having taken over housing from local authorities.
The Bill means that those dwellings and homes can now be sold to the tenant, who could well wish to sell on the open market, make a quick profit and move on. It seems that the Government do not object to that, but it will drastically reduce the already shrinking supply of homes in rural areas. Rural properties are on average about £43,000 more expensive than their urban counterparts, and local wages are lower. As we have heard, someone on a lower-quartile income would need to pay almost eight times their annual salary to secure a home. The Rural Housing Advisory Group believes that the Bill will, over time, drive out people who live and work in rural communities, threatening the economic and social vitality of those areas.
As we have heard, only 8% of housing stock in communities of less than 3,000 people is classed as affordable, compared to 19% in urban areas. A universal right to buy could see the remaining rural social housing disappear. Is that the Government’s intention?