General election 2024: The first two weeks for housing

It’s been a little over two weeks since Rishi Sunak stood in the rain and called a general election. A lot has happened since, from a wave of sitting Conservative MPs hanging up their political hats to Nigel Farage taking the reins from Richard Tice to lead Reform UK. 

There have also been notable developments in housing, such as the confirmed departure of Michael Gove as housing secretary and key legislation that either passed or fell on the final day of Parliament sitting. 

Let’s take a look at them. 

Renters (Reform) Bill dropped 

Sunak’s surprise general election announcement gave MPs just two days to rush through any legislation yet to become law. While some bills squeezed through, others were either too early in the parliamentary process or could not be agreed on and were thus shelved. 

One such victim was the Renters (Reform) Bill, which sought to ban Section 21, or ‘no-fault’, evictions and improve protections for private renters generally. The bill will now not come into force unless the next government decides to reintroduce it, though all main parties have indicated a commitment to seeing the reforms through in principle. 

CIH had hoped for the bill to pass, describing it as a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to level the playing field between landlords and tenants”. 

Commenting on the bill’s failure to pass, CIH’s head of policy and external affairs, Rachael Williamson, said: “Given the commitments made in manifestos at the 2019 general election, the failure to pass a Renters (Reform) Bill that delivered on much needed reforms to the private rented sector was very disappointing. 

“We look to the next government to make this right and give private renters the security and protections they need.”  

Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act passed 

One housing bill that did make it into law was the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill (now Act). With the act now passed, the standard leasehold extension term for both houses and flats has increased to 990 years, and the sale of new leasehold houses is now banned (except in certain circumstances). 

The act also allows owners on private and mixed-use estates to access standardised information on service charges, making it easier to challenge these charges should they be perceived as unfair; and enables leaseholders to extend their lease or buy their freehold immediately, without having to wait two years. 

However, due to the compromises parliamentarians made to get the bill over the line, the act lacks certain provisions that many, including CIH, had been calling for. These include a ban on the sale of both new leasehold houses and flats and scrapping ground rent for existing leaseholders. 

The ‘watering-down’ of the bill was commented on by Tory peer Lord Bailey of Paddington, who said: "This bill is suboptimal – it's not the revolution that many leaseholders across the country have been desperate for. 

"But it's the only game in town, a game that has currently taken 22 years to get to this point." 

Labour has since indicated that, should the party get elected, it will seek to make commonhold the default tenure for flats and to regulate ground rent charges.   

Michael Gove stepping down 

It almost seems like years ago, such is the pace of election news, that Michael Gove announced he wouldn’t be standing in the election. The housing secretary broke the news on the final day of Parliament sitting, in the process confirming that there would be a new secretary of state in July. 

Gove first served as housing secretary between September 2021 to July 2022, before reassuming the role under Rishi Sunak in October 2022. During his two tenures, he oversaw the passing and subsequent implementation of key legislation, including the Building Safety Act 2022 and the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023, along with Awaab’s Law.

Housing secretary Michael Gove announced early on in the election campaign that he would standing down as an MP (Cr: Jakub Junek/Shutterstock)

He became known for his tough stance on housing associations, especially those found to be underperforming, as well as his determination to make developers engage with remediation works on buildings they built. However, under his purview, the Conservative Party also effectively abandoned its 2019 manifesto commitment of delivering 300,000 new homes a year by 2025. 

Gove was very much an active housing secretary, but it remains to be seen what his legacy will be. 

Labour’s Housing First plans 

Most recently, it was reported that Labour is considering an expansion of Housing First – the homelessness model that seeks to house rough sleepers immediately, while providing further support – should it get into power. 

As first reported by Politics Home, the party is working on a plan to roll out Housing First across the country, with the full detail expected to be officially unveiled in its election manifesto. 

Housing First has seen success in areas such as Manchester and the West Midlands; however, there are currently no plans to extend the funding for pilots beyond 2025. 

What’s next? 

An outsider would think housing hasn’t featured in the election debate at all. And while that isn’t quite true, housing is yet to enter the arena as a key area of focus. 

This could change, however, as we move into the final four weeks of campaigning. And with TV debates starting and manifesto launches just around the corner, there should be plenty of opportunity for housing to have its day. 

• General election 2024: Getting housing heard

Main image: Shutterstock AI