The Council has decided to provide £2.5 million of funding itself for housing associations to build social homes instead of the accepting the funding. It is the only London Borough to not take part in the HCA's Affordable Homes Programme.
The Council had agreed to hand capital over to housing associations that will help build 61 social homes in the borough over the next two years said James Murray, executive member for housing at the Council, according to an Inside Housing report. The Council plans to fund the new social homes using capital raised from the New Homes Bonus and other sources.
The Council's cabinet agreed that it would not adopt the Government's affordable rent strategy in its planning policy at the end of June. The Affordable Homes Programme aims to provide funding to secure the delivery of homes at below market rate.
The Planning Inspectorate is currently considering the Council's decision not to take part in the scheme and it is thought that the Inspectorate could dispute the decision, according to the report. Mayor of London Boris Johnson is said to be unhappy about the decision.
The Council has decided not to opt into the scheme because it decided that affordable rent is not the right product for Islington. "We need affordable accommodation so people can live in a manageable commuting distance from London," said Murray at a conference.
The Council has also agreed to sell its own land at discounted prices to a group of 10 housing associations to build affordable homes in Islington, according to the report.
Some planning officers have experienced residents refusing housing association homes amid fears they wouldn't be able to afford the rent, said Murray. "We are already hearing some housing association properties are hard to let. People are so concerned [about not being able to pay rent] that they are reluctant to move into new homes even if they suit their needs," he said at the conference.
The Council's executive has also agreed to guarantee the rent for people who downsize and is in talks with housing associations to try to persuade them to do the same.
If someone has lived in a property for years their rent is likely to not have risen by much, said Murray, but if they move into a new property it will be a new target rent, so could be more, even if the new property is smaller.
