"On the downsizing, where are the specialist properties for these people to move into? There are none. It’s a great idea but why would they move if they have nowhere to move to?"
Speaking to ITV's Robert Peston, Housing Minister Gavin Barwell said: "If we can make it easier for elderly people to move into [sheltered] accommodation, it releases family homes that we’re desperate for. It’s a really interesting idea."
The new measures are rumoured to include changes to stamp duty charges or help with moving costs.
A DCLG spokesperson said: "The white paper will explore ways to stimulate the market. We want to make sure older people have a good choice of accommodation to help them to live independently for longer, and help reduce costs to social care and health systems."
Jeremy Leaf, RICS residential chairman, had this to say: "‘There is so much speculation as to what might be in the housing White Paper, and encouragingly most of it sounds good. The first step when dealing with a problem is recognising it. But that’s not enough, you have to then decide how you deal with it.
One wonders why we should have more confidence than we have had in this government up until now, its predecessor under David Cameron or previous Labour governments. Where are the deliverable targets? Where is the transparency to enable us to measure it? What difference is it really going to make or is it more hot air than housing?
For instance, take the housing targets. What is going to make a difference to the planning officer and how he does his job? Is he going to be able to do things more quickly? Is he going to make sure infrastructure is fast-tracked so he can put pressure on developers to start work faster tomorrow than they do today?
On the downsizing, where are the specialist properties for these people to move into? There are none. It’s a great idea but why would they move if they have nowhere to move to? It needs to be thought through - big ideas must go hand-in-hand with big delivery.
Clamping down on letting agent fees may be popular among tenants but it is likely to compromise the quality and quantity of property available because the balance of power will move to the tenant. At the moment because tenants pay for references they are very careful about giving you a name for that reference. If in the future when they are not paying and it is the agent or landlord they are likely to be more cavalier, putting in offers with several agents and not caring about the quality of the reference. References can be very poor as a general rule and we suspect this may make the situation worse.
With any housing delivery it is vital that the quality and quantity of accommodation available is not compromised. We need a balance - if you destroy that, prices will go up and that’s what we don’t want."
