The UK is in a housing crisis where home-ownership is becoming nothing more than a idealistic dream for Gen Y and Millenials. What was once the goal for 20-30 year old working professionals, is now only an option for the exceptionally wealthy, particularly in the UK’s capital where the average starter home price is now £462,602.*
Overall, there is a crisis because housing is unavailable, unaffordable, and/or inappropriate for everyone that needs it. However, the debate around what we need to do to solve the crisis gets incredibly complicated and a lot of work needs to be done for the Government to even come close to hitting their targets of building 200,000 new homes per year.
Although the Government is unlikely to describe the current situation as a crisis, their approach to housing policy can probably be best viewed as trying to solve a crisis in home-ownership. The change in planning policy implemented in 2013 and extended indefinitely from 2016 to allow permitted development for change-of-use of office buildings into residential homes was a giant step in unlocking the deadlock facing the country for would-be home-owners. However, whilst it came as welcome news for developers and young aspiring home-owners there was opposition to it from local planners who are powerless to resist these applications other than for the 4 requirements of the Prior Notification application.
So what are the reasons for resistance?
headoffice3’s view is that whilst opposition has some feeble remarks to make on the subject of ‘homes in inappropriate buildings’, and ‘lack of parking’, our view is very much to the contrary. The market will find its own level in time anyhow, as the lack of supply continues and outstrips demand by a country mile. The need for suitable accommodation can’t be suppressed by planning officers in their ivory towers dictating to the Generation Rent why houses can’t be created for them in this cost effective manner.
headoffice3 are leaders in office-to-resi conversions and have built hundreds of homes from tired, vacant and run down office blocks that could never have been viable for use as anything else. Described by I-news, the national paper with a property section, as 'leading specialists in office-to-resi conversions', headoffice3 undertake every stage of the process from planning, designing and constructing on behalf of many UK developers.
So what are the benefits of office-to-resi?
- No section 106 agreement;
- No CIL (Community Infrastructure Levy);
- Faster planning process;
- Lesser transport requirements generally;
- No affordable housing requirement;
- Cheaper build costs;
- Less onerous building regulations (only certain parts of the Building regulations approved document are applicable to change of use applications).
Many more reasons exist but the stark reality is that the monetary gain for developers and reduction in starter home prices are forcing the market to take advantage of this new planning regulation. The recycling of currently vacant office space or partly used office buildings for homes has been as revolutionary to the housing market as Brexit was to Europe.