The Mayor of London Boris Johnson and London Councils have put forward plans for sweeping changes which could see London boroughs taking greater control of their housing budgets, as part of a proposed devolution package from Whitehall to London.
Together the Mayor and London Councils have released A Framework for Devolved Delivery, which would give boroughs greater autonomy over housing budgets, place them at the forefront of negotiations with developers and give them more responsibility to ensure the needs of their local communities are being addressed.
By signing up to a voluntary Devolved Delivery Agreement, participating boroughs would have an agreed indicative housing budget set for the duration of the spending round to help them address their housing and regeneration priorities.
In turn, a borough would commit to making better use of resources, deliver more affordable housing and contribute to the delivery of the London Housing Strategy.
The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) is responsible for allocating more than 80% of the housing funding for London. Under devolved delivery, the Mayor and the London Housing Board - which includes borough representatives - will agree an indicative budget for boroughs, allowing them to allocate this funding according to London-wide and individual priorities.
In a letter to all London boroughs, the Mayor and the chairman of London Councils, Mayor Jules Pipe, encouraged boroughs to comment on the plans put forward in the framework paper, and invited leaders to express an interest in entering into a Devolved Delivery Agreement.
Information Notes
Devolved Delivery Agreements would be entirely voluntary and boroughs can choose to participate but are not required to do so.
In return for signing up to an agreement, the boroughs would be required to ensure they have in place housing policies that meet the objectives of the London Housing Strategy, and agree a broad set of outcomes with the Mayor that ensures both London-wide and local housing needs are met.
Following the successful launch of its UpToYou product in March 2009, L&Q has extended the product for households earning between £12,000 and £25,000 a year. The new product will only be available to people on the housing waiting list and in paid employment.
The new, extended 'UpToYou' product was launched at L&Q's Southbury Apartments in Enfield with 21 of the available 25 homes reserved on the opening weekend.
Under the scheme, customers can rent before they buy - which allows them to move in and pay a subsidised rent while they save. After five years they can become an owner.
At this stage they can buy a share of their home, continue renting the rest and receive up to £5,000 from L&Q to help towards their purchase deposit.
The new 'UpToYou' product aims to provide an incentive to work, an incentive to save, a financial incentive to look after your home and neighbourhood, and an incentive to buy.
This pilot scheme uses existing Homes and Communities Agency grant funding and allows for a portion of this grant to be converted into equity investment at a later date. This would enable the Government to share in any future profits, providing best value for money.
This scheme is designed to test the 'UpToYou' model for lower income groups and, depending on customer and stakeholder feedback, L&Q would then look to extend the product across the Capital.
The first development with this new 'UpToYou' product has a minimum household income of £16,451- L&Q is currently assessing its development pipeline for current schemes that can be converted to offer this product for lower income households. Following feedback on this pilot L&Q will look at future developments and funding to roll out the offer on a wider basis.
