Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department is taking steps to help ensure that vacant homes built under section 106 agreements are occupied.

The government is well aware of concerns about reduced appetite from Registered Providers of social housing to buy affordable homes delivered under Section 106 agreements. We will continue to work with housebuilders, local authorities, and Registered Providers to tackle this problem.

One of the main causes of the problem is a reduction in Registered Providers’ financial capacity over recent years. The government recognises that Registered Providers need support to build their capacity and make a greater contribution to affordable housing supply. We are currently consulting on a new 5-year social housing rent settlement, to give Registered Providers the certainty they need to invest in new social and affordable housing.

We have also announced that councils will be allowed to keep 100% of the receipts generated by Right to Buy sales, so that they are better able to build and buy new homes. We have provided flexibility for councils to combine Right to Buy receipts with Section 106 contributions (this flexibility will be in place for an initial 24 months and then subject to review).