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Government launches new affordable housing drive
17 July 2008 11:30
The government has announced a new set of measures designed to aid the housing market, as it seeks to improve the provision of affordable property.
One of these initiatives will enable households earning less than £60,000 a year to rent a property at 80 per cent or less of the market rate, allowing them to save up a deposit so they can then buy a share in their home.
Other actions being taken include the creation of public-private sector partnerships for delivering more affordable homes, plans to build up to 75,000 houses in 20 more towns and cities and the further exploration of proposals for mortgage rescue schemes.
Housing minister Caroline Flint explained that this package is intended to deal with both short and long-term issues within the property market, warning that affordability issues will only worsen unless housing supply is increased.
Yet the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders' Association was unimpressed, arguing that the government's main concern should be resolving the lack of liquidity in the mortgage market and that its Rent to Home Buy scheme is a 'sticking plaster' rather than an actual 'cure'.
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