Housing Availability and Affordability

Monday 12th October 2026 Written Statements

[The Minister for Housing and Planning (Matthew Pennycook)]

Everyone deserves to live in a safe, secure, decent and affordable home. Our vision is for a housing market which allows families at all income levels to access good housing at rents they can afford and that expands opportunity to a new generation of homeowners. We will achieve it by expanding housing choice and availability and improving security and affordability across tenures. The Government are also determined to strengthen public control over the housing system so that it better serves the public interest and gives people and communities a greater say over local homes and neighbourhoods.

Over recent weeks, we have announced a series of measures to improve housing availability and affordability and bring housing back under stronger public control. These include new support for first-time buyers; enhanced powers to help councils bring long-term empty homes back into use; new legislative provisions to strengthen homelessness prevention and better protect social housing stock; and new rights and protections for leaseholders, homeowners and tenants. I am today updating the House on those measures.

Supporting first-time buyers

On 26 September, the Government announced that a new equity loan scheme, Your First Home, will be confirmed at this month’s Budget, to support more people into home ownership. The scheme will enable prospective first-time buyers who cannot rely on help from the bank of mum and dad to purchase a new build home from a participating house builder with a 2.5% deposit, supported by a 20% Government-backed equity loan.

People will be able to access equity loans with an initial interest free period, meaning that those who use the scheme could save hundreds of pounds per month compared to a 95% mortgage. Household income and local house price caps will ensure support is targeted at those who most need it, and participating house builders will be expected to contribute towards the costs of the scheme. Further details, including costs and implementation timelines, will be announced by the Chancellor at the Budget later this month.

Empty dwelling management orders

On 27 September, the Government announced reforms to the empty dwelling management order regime to help councils bring more long-term empty homes back into use. EDMOs allow councils to take over the management of qualifying homes and return them to occupation for up to seven years, while ownership remains with the property owner. We will reduce the qualifying period from two years to six months and remove evidential requirements relating to matters such as antisocial behaviour or community support.

Together, these changes will simplify the EDMO process, empower local authority empty homes officers to act more decisively and with greater speed, and accelerate the return of empty homes to use. We are also exploring further changes to strengthen the regime and support councils to use these powers more effectively.

Homelessness prevention and social housing disposals

On 28 September, the Government confirmed that they would bring forward amendments to the Social Housing Bill to strengthen homelessness prevention and better protect much-needed social housing stock. A new duty to collaborate will be incorporated into the Bill that will require public services to work together to identify people at risk of homelessness and jointly consider what action they could take, within their existing responsibilities, to help to prevent it. Councils will also be given a new power to refer homeless households to private registered providers of social housing.

The Government also announced that they would amend the disposals notification requirement in the Bill to extend the period that must elapse between the notification being made and any sale being completed from four to eight weeks. This will maximise opportunities for councils and other social housing providers to buy and retain social homes to ensure that they stay within the social housing sector.

Strengthening leaseholder protections and the regulation of property agents

On 29 September, the Government announced further measures to provide leaseholders and homeowners on privately managed estates with greater rights and protections. We will legislate to give the Secretary of State powers to cap exorbitant permission fees and administration charges, with a public consultation to follow to help determine the scope and level of those caps.

We also announced our intention to legislate for the independent regulation of property agents. A regulator can set codes of practice, such as standards of conduct and proper complaint handling for those they regulate. Property agents will be required to obtain a licence to do the job, as well as appropriate qualifications to operate. If they fall foul of the required standards, a regulator would have the power to take their licences away. Further information will be set out in due course.

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