Please could you provide information on the following: 1) What is the affordable housing tenure policy included within your local plan i.e. the suggested percentage breakdown of affordable housing tenures, for example, 60% social rent, 40% shared ownership.
The adopted Local Plan (Lambeth Local Plan 2015) states in policy H2(a)(iii) that 70 per cent of new affordable housing units should be social and affordable rent and 30 per cent intermediate provision. Policy H2(a)(v) of the emerging Draft Revised Lambeth Local Plan (DRLLP) sets out that 70 per cent of new affordable housing units should be low cost rented homes allocated according to need in line with the council’s allocation scheme and for Londoners on low incomes (Social Rent/London Affordable Rent) and 30 per cent should be intermediate products, including London Living Rent and London Shared Ownership, in accordance with the principles set out in the council’s Tenancy Strategy. Where affordable homes are provided above the required threshold level, the tenure of these homes can be flexible provided they are genuinely affordable (as defined in London Plan policy H6).
2) Does your local plan include reference to:
a) Shared ownership (yes/no)
Lambeth Local Plan 2015 – yes
DRLLP – yes
b) Rent to buy
No
3) If yes to 2a or 2b, please provide details if this is other than a percentage covered in 1.
The Lambeth Local Plan 2015 includes a reference to Shared Ownership in the glossary, as part of the definition of Intermediate Housing. The full definition is: Intermediate housing is homes for sale and rent provided at a cost above social rent, but below market levels subject to the criteria in the Affordable Housing definition above. These can include shared equity (shared ownership and equity loans), other low-cost homes for sale and intermediate rent, but not affordable rented housing.
The DRLLP includes a reference to London Shared Ownership in policy H2(a)(v). Paragraph 5.30 states that shared ownership will not normally be appropriate in locations where market sales values exceed £600,000, as set out in the Mayor’s Affordable Housing and Viability SPG. Paragraph 5.106 includes a reference to shared ownership units that are provided as part of an estate regeneration scheme. This states that in cases where the occupant ‘staircases out’ to own the unit outright, the proceeds from the sale of the unit will be retained by Homes for Lambeth and recycled into provision of other affordable housing elsewhere in Lambeth.