The Housing Delivery Test

23/04/2019

The Housing Delivery Test was published earlier this year showing that 33% of Councils are under delivering with their housing supply.

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) set out a timeframe for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to publish the results of the UK’s first Housing Delivery Test in November 2018, then every November yearly after.

The Housing Delivery Test takes into account the number of homes required within the Councils control from the period of 2015-2018 and compares this to the number of homes delivered over that period. In order for a Council to pass the delivery test they must deliver 95% of the assessed need. The Councils that delivered 85-95% must then produce an action plan in accordance with national planning guidance to establish why they are under delivering and how they plan to address this. Councils that only delivered 25-85% of their housing need must identify a buffer of 20% more land to show they will achieve the set out housing.

Although 77% of Councils demonstrated they had delivered their housing need for the period 2015-2018 they still have a potential problem with their five year housing supply and delivering the homes the UK so desperately needs.

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