9th September 2009 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Today’s Audit Commission report "Building better lives - Getting the best from strategic housing", is a welcome acknowledgment of the need to maintain our existing social housing stock as well as recognising the need for more homes, says the Federation of Master Builders
Brian Berry, Director of External Affairs at the FMB said:
“Given that nearly 80 per cent of existing homes will still be in use in 2050 more attention must be given to the need to maintain existing homes both in the social and private sectors. Today’s report from the Audit Committee calling on councils to adopt a more strategic view of housing needs to be replicated across all tenures. With new house building expected to deliver only around 100,000 units this year and demand estimates having been revised up to 237,000 per annum every year from now until 2031 by the Government's housing advisor, the National Housing and Planning Advice Unit, it is essential to make best use of the existing stock.”
Berry concluded:
“The most practical ways to ensure this would be for the Government to cut VAT from 15 per cent to 5 per cent for all repair and maintenance work to homes. This would help bring some of the 800,000 empty homes back into use when we have a desperate housing shortage in this country. Additional financial incentives such as Council Tax rebates and green mortgages to help homeowners make their homes more energy efficient would also help improve existing homes for fit for purpose as we move into the low carbon economy.”
