Reacting to the Chancellor’s spring budget, Patrick Franco, Chief Executive of Notting Hill Genesis, said:
The UK is in the midst of a housing emergency. Cost of living pressures, rising rental prices and lengthy social housing waitlists are putting affordable, good quality homes out of reach for far too many.
In today’s spring budget we hoped for greater clarity for providers of affordable housing around funding and rent certainty, as well as much-needed support for those struggling to make ends meet. Although we are pleased to see a six-month extension to the Household Support Fund, this is only a temporary fix. It is disappointing that the Chancellor did not announce any long-term measures to address the housing crisis across the UK.
Stamp Duty and Capital Gains Tax reforms will help those who can afford to get on the housing ladder but leave a large proportion of the population behind. This puts further pressure on the social housing sector to bridge the gap and does not get to the root of the housing problem we face in the UK.
As we look ahead to a General Election this year, we will continue to advocate for the policy reforms that affordable housing providers and our residents desperately need.
