Our response to the Government’s ‘First Homes’ Consultation

Published on April 1, 2020

Published on April 1, 2020

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick is consulting on plans for ‘First Homes’: new homes for sale to first time buyers with £100,000 discounts, targeted at ‘key workers’ such as nurses, police officers and veterans of the armed forces. The scheme will be funded not by a new pot of money from the government but by redirecting local Section 106 planning gain monies.

Developers pay Section 106 contributions to cash-strapped local councils, as part of planning agreements for new developments, to fund supporting infrastructure and new affordable housing. Section 106 has been until now a remaining source of extra funding for those local authorities that are committed to funding new homes for social rent.

There is no evidence of any great need for this scheme and we fear it will come at the expense of urgently needed new homes for social rent.

This document is our response to this consultation. Please feel free to make use of it when writing your own response.

The deadline for responding to this consultation has been extended to 11:45pm on 1 May 2020. Responses can be sent to FirstHomes@communities.gov.uk