Government Policy On Affordable Housing

EDM number 2078 in 2007-08, proposed by Grant Shapps on 16/07/2008.
Categorised under the topics of Housing, Housing standards and Housing supply.

That this House recognises that Britain is suffering the effects of a housing affordability crisis; highlights new research by Shelter showing that two million households are being pushed to breaking point by unmanageable housing costs; notes that thousands of households are homeless or trapped in damp, dilapidated or overcrowded housing, because they are unable to afford to rent or buy a decent home; emphasises problems faced by the record 1.7 million households on the social housing waiting list, representing four million people; urges the Government to remove its arbitrary targets and Whitehall-driven approach which have led to fewer homes of every type being built in the last decade than either of the previous two decades, an approach which is failing families, first time buyers and the worst off in society; calls on the Government to raise the threshold on stamp duty to £250,000 for first time buyers, meaning that nine out of 10 will pay nothing and to scrap home information packs, preventing needless bureaucracy from further choking the housing market; and encourages the Government to work with communities and local democracy to build homes of all types that the United Kingdom needs.

This motion has been signed by a total of 11 MPs.