Delayed Homes Penalty - Revision history

Editor at 06:07, 26 May 2025

2025-05-26T06:07:01Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 06:07, 26 May 2025
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	“The ability to apply a ’Delayed Homes Penalty’ is a power that councils have been asking for and means that local taxpayers are not missing out on lost income due to slow developers, but it must be set at a level that incentivises build out. Private developers have a key role in solving our chronic housing shortage but they cannot build the homes needed each year on their own. Ahead of the Spending Review, we have also set out the measures needed to empower councils to also be able to build more affordable, good quality homes quickly and at scale.”		“The ability to apply a ’Delayed Homes Penalty’ is a power that councils have been asking for and means that local taxpayers are not missing out on lost income due to slow developers, but it must be set at a level that incentivises build out. Private developers have a key role in solving our chronic housing shortage but they cannot build the homes needed each year on their own. Ahead of the Spending Review, we have also set out the measures needed to empower councils to also be able to build more affordable, good quality homes quickly and at scale.”

−	~~Planning approvals increased by 20% in June ahead of Labour’s new drive for housebuilding.~~	+	= Related articles on Designing Buildings =

−	What do the political party manifestos say on housebuilding and building safety.	+	* Brownfield Passport.
		+	* Consultation on proposed reforms to NPPF and other changes to the planning system.
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		+	* What do the political party manifestos say on housebuilding and building safety.

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Editor at 06:03, 26 May 2025

2025-05-26T06:03:15Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 06:03, 26 May 2025
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	“The ability to apply a ’Delayed Homes Penalty’ is a power that councils have been asking for and means that local taxpayers are not missing out on lost income due to slow developers, but it must be set at a level that incentivises build out. Private developers have a key role in solving our chronic housing shortage but they cannot build the homes needed each year on their own. Ahead of the Spending Review, we have also set out the measures needed to empower councils to also be able to build more affordable, good quality homes quickly and at scale.”		“The ability to apply a ’Delayed Homes Penalty’ is a power that councils have been asking for and means that local taxpayers are not missing out on lost income due to slow developers, but it must be set at a level that incentivises build out. Private developers have a key role in solving our chronic housing shortage but they cannot build the homes needed each year on their own. Ahead of the Spending Review, we have also set out the measures needed to empower councils to also be able to build more affordable, good quality homes quickly and at scale.”
		+
		+	Planning approvals increased by 20% in June ahead of Labour’s new drive for housebuilding.
		+
		+	What do the political party manifestos say on housebuilding and building safety.

	[[Category:Articles_needing_more_work]]		[[Category:Articles_needing_more_work]]

Editor at 06:01, 26 May 2025

2025-05-26T06:01:59Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 06:01, 26 May 2025
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	The Delayed Homes Penalty is a policy that was proposed in the Policy paper [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/planning-reform-working-paper-speeding-up-build-out/planning-reform-working-paper-speeding-up-build-out "Planning Reform Working Paper: Speeding Up Build Out" which was published 25 May 2025] by the government. The paper proposes various methods to facilitate the speeding up of house building and give councils greater powers. One of these proposals is the Delayed Homes Penalty, which would be a last resort measure available for local authorities where a developer has agreed a build out schedule in their planning permission but falls materially (10% or more) behind without a good reason. The policy will require primary legislation to come into force and will only apply to future planning permissions.		The Delayed Homes Penalty is a policy that was proposed in the Policy paper [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/planning-reform-working-paper-speeding-up-build-out/planning-reform-working-paper-speeding-up-build-out "Planning Reform Working Paper: Speeding Up Build Out" which was published 25 May 2025] by the government. The paper proposes various methods to facilitate the speeding up of house building and give councils greater powers. One of these proposals is the Delayed Homes Penalty, which would be a last resort measure available for local authorities where a developer has agreed a build out schedule in their planning permission but falls materially (10% or more) behind without a good reason. The policy will require primary legislation to come into force and will only apply to future planning permissions.
		+
		+	The government aims to accelerate housing development and promote diverse tenure models, the Delayed Homes Penalty would apply to developers who fall significantly behind agreed build-out schedules without valid reasons. As a last resort measure, it would apply to larger sites with pre-agreed delivery plans and transparent monitoring. The developers would need to justify delays and where caused by external, defined factors, the penalties might not apply. Otherwise, they could be fined per delayed home, based on house prices or local tax impacts. The approach seeks to balance accountability with clarity, and the further consultation aims shape its implementation to avoid discouraging development.

	The Deputy Prime Minister [https://www.gov.uk/government/news/get-on-and-build-deputy-prime-minister-urges-housebuilders at the time through the announcement urged housebuilders to ‘Get on and Build']:		The Deputy Prime Minister [https://www.gov.uk/government/news/get-on-and-build-deputy-prime-minister-urges-housebuilders at the time through the announcement urged housebuilders to ‘Get on and Build']:
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	“The ability to apply a ’Delayed Homes Penalty’ is a power that councils have been asking for and means that local taxpayers are not missing out on lost income due to slow developers, but it must be set at a level that incentivises build out. Private developers have a key role in solving our chronic housing shortage but they cannot build the homes needed each year on their own. Ahead of the Spending Review, we have also set out the measures needed to empower councils to also be able to build more affordable, good quality homes quickly and at scale.”		“The ability to apply a ’Delayed Homes Penalty’ is a power that councils have been asking for and means that local taxpayers are not missing out on lost income due to slow developers, but it must be set at a level that incentivises build out. Private developers have a key role in solving our chronic housing shortage but they cannot build the homes needed each year on their own. Ahead of the Spending Review, we have also set out the measures needed to empower councils to also be able to build more affordable, good quality homes quickly and at scale.”
−
−	24. We want to incentivise and encourage models of development which allow faster build out, such as greater diversity of tenure. While we recognise that this is a shift for some parts of the industry, we believe it will benefit all involved – communities will see homes and infrastructure built faster and developers will have more certainty over their sales pipelines.
−
−	To support a shift towards greater diversity of tenure, and to address instances where build out is falling significantly behind an agreed schedule without a reasonable justification, we are exploring the possibility of introducing a new tool for local authorities: the “Delayed Homes Penalty”. This would effectively be a last resort measure, which we hope not to have to implement, but may be needed if industry does not sufficiently adapt and fulfil their commitment to deliver homes more quickly.
−
−	26. The Delayed Homes Penalty would be available to local authorities for development which falls materially behind pre-agreed build out schedules, as set out through the transparency measures. While subject to further work, including drawing on responses to this working paper, we are considering the following framework for the Delayed Homes Penalty.
−
−	~~a. The Penalty would apply only to sites over a threshold size and only where there is evidence of a developer falling substantially behind a build out schedule, pre-agreed with the LPA.~~
−
−	b. Agreement and monitoring of build out rates would be aligned to the new transparency measures, which will require developers to pre-agree a build out schedule with the local planning authority before consent, provide a commencement notice before the development begins and then annual development progress reports.
−
−	c. If a site falls substantially behind the pre-agreed build out schedule in a given year (to 90% or less of the agreed delivery), then the developer would be required to justify the slower build out rate to the planning authority. If this cannot be shown to have been caused by an external factor – such as unusually severe weather, or an unexpected site issues – the developer could become liable for the Delayed Homes Penalty.
−
−	d. The relevant external factors would be nationally set out in guidance and could be informed by those already used in contracts between Homes England and developers under the ‘build lease’ model.
−
−	e. If the Delayed Homes Penalty were applied, the relevant party (developer or landowner) would be charged for each home behind the pre-agreed build out schedule. Penalties could be based on a percentage of the house price, or via reference to local Council Tax rates, given the loss of income that a local authority incurs when homes are not built and occupied at the expected rate (although this would not be applied via the Council Tax system itself).
−
−	27. It would be important in the introduction of any Delayed Homes Penalty that industry was confident in when and how this would be applied, to ensure that they did not disincentivise land being brought forward for development. We therefore intend to use all views expressed in response to this working paper to inform further policy development, and if the government decided to take this proposal forward, we would propose to undertake further consultation.

	[[Category:Articles_needing_more_work]]		[[Category:Articles_needing_more_work]]

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2025-05-26T05:40:52Z

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The Delayed Homes Penalty is a policy that was proposed in the Policy paper [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/planning-reform-working-paper-speeding-up-build-out/planning-reform-working-paper-speeding-up-build-out "Planning Reform Working Paper: Speeding Up Build Out" which was published 25 May 2025] by the government. The paper proposes various methods to facilitate the speeding up of house building and give councils greater powers. One of these proposals is the Delayed Homes Penalty, which would be a last resort measure available for local authorities where a developer has agreed a build out schedule in their planning permission but falls materially (10% or more) behind without a good reason. The policy will require primary legislation to come into force and will only apply to future planning permissions.

The Deputy Prime Minister [https://www.gov.uk/government/news/get-on-and-build-deputy-prime-minister-urges-housebuilders at the time through the announcement urged housebuilders to ‘Get on and Build']:

“This government has taken radical steps to overhaul the planning system to get Britain building again after years of inaction. In the name of delivering security for working people, we are backing the builders not the blockers. Now it’s time for developers to roll up their sleeves and play their part. We’re going even further to get the homes we need. No more sites with planning permission gathering dust for decades while a generation struggle to get on the housing ladder. Through our Plan for Change, we will deliver 1.5 million homes, fix the housing crisis and make the dream of home ownership a reality for working people.”

The housing spokesperson for the Local Government Association, Cllr Adam Hug went on to say:

“We are pleased the Government has acted on the LGA’s call for it to be easier for councils to penalise developers and acquire stalled housing sites or sites which have not been built out to timescales contractually agreed, ideally with the recovery being made at pre-planning gain prices. Local government shares ambitions to boost housebuilding and work hard with communities and developers to deliver new sites. Too often they are frustrated when developers do not build the homes they have approved. While intervention of this sort is a last resort, this move is crucial to help ensure meaningful build out of sites.

“The ability to apply a ’Delayed Homes Penalty’ is a power that councils have been asking for and means that local taxpayers are not missing out on lost income due to slow developers, but it must be set at a level that incentivises build out. Private developers have a key role in solving our chronic housing shortage but they cannot build the homes needed each year on their own. Ahead of the Spending Review, we have also set out the measures needed to empower councils to also be able to build more affordable, good quality homes quickly and at scale.”

24. We want to incentivise and encourage models of development which allow faster build out, such as greater diversity of tenure. While we recognise that this is a shift for some parts of the industry, we believe it will benefit all involved – communities will see homes and infrastructure built faster and developers will have more certainty over their sales pipelines.

To support a shift towards greater diversity of tenure, and to address instances where build out is falling significantly behind an agreed schedule without a reasonable justification, we are exploring the possibility of introducing a new tool for local authorities: the “Delayed Homes Penalty”. This would effectively be a last resort measure, which we hope not to have to implement, but may be needed if industry does not sufficiently adapt and fulfil their commitment to deliver homes more quickly.

26. The Delayed Homes Penalty would be available to local authorities for development which falls materially behind pre-agreed build out schedules, as set out through the transparency measures. While subject to further work, including drawing on responses to this working paper, we are considering the following framework for the Delayed Homes Penalty.

a. The Penalty would apply only to sites over a threshold size and only where there is evidence of a developer falling substantially behind a build out schedule, pre-agreed with the LPA.

b. Agreement and monitoring of build out rates would be aligned to the new transparency measures, which will require developers to pre-agree a build out schedule with the local planning authority before consent, provide a commencement notice before the development begins and then annual development progress reports.

c. If a site falls substantially behind the pre-agreed build out schedule in a given year (to 90% or less of the agreed delivery), then the developer would be required to justify the slower build out rate to the planning authority. If this cannot be shown to have been caused by an external factor – such as unusually severe weather, or an unexpected site issues – the developer could become liable for the Delayed Homes Penalty.

d. The relevant external factors would be nationally set out in guidance and could be informed by those already used in contracts between Homes England and developers under the ‘build lease’ model.

e. If the Delayed Homes Penalty were applied, the relevant party (developer or landowner) would be charged for each home behind the pre-agreed build out schedule. Penalties could be based on a percentage of the house price, or via reference to local Council Tax rates, given the loss of income that a local authority incurs when homes are not built and occupied at the expected rate (although this would not be applied via the Council Tax system itself).

27. It would be important in the introduction of any Delayed Homes Penalty that industry was confident in when and how this would be applied, to ensure that they did not disincentivise land being brought forward for development. We therefore intend to use all views expressed in response to this working paper to inform further policy development, and if the government decided to take this proposal forward, we would propose to undertake further consultation.

[[Category:Articles_needing_more_work]]