HCA 'on course' to meet end of year housing targets

The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) says it is well on course to meet its end of year housing targets, despite the economic downturn and difficult operating conditions.

The prediction was made by the government’s national housing and regeneration body when it published its first set of official six-monthly statistics in relation to housing starts and completions delivered through its National Affordable Housing Programme (NAHP) and Property & Regeneration (P&R) programme.

The top line figures show that the Agency completed a total of 20,177 homes and started work on 14,136 new units during the period April 1 to September 30 2009.

Housing completions represent around 36 per cent of the total yearly target of 55,625 homes for 2009/10; whereas starts are just over 24 per cent of the expected yearly target of 57,815 units.

Chief executive of the HCA, Sir Bob Kerslake, commenting on the figures, said: “Judging by our current performance, I expect to achieve our end of year housing targets.  Currently we are exceeding our forecast position for both starts and completions under the NAHP but are marginally behind expectations for homes delivered under the P&R programme, largely caused by poor market conditions. 

“However, we will see the level of starts and completions increase disproportionately over the next 6 months especially as the first Kickstart and LANB (local authority new build) homes come on stream.

"So I am very happy with the position we are in, but we will certainly be keeping up the pressure to make sure we hit targets, but at the same time deliver good quality places.”

Of the completed homes 19,146 were affordable and funded through the NAHP (of these 10,671 were social rent; 789 intermediate rent and 7,686 low cost home ownership), the remaining 1,031 homes were mainly open market delivered through the P&R programme.

Starts on site included 12,946 affordable homes (9,280 for social rent; 1,556 for intermediate rent and 2,110 for LCHO) and 1,190 properties that are mainly open market.

By the end of the financial year, the HCA expects to see work starting on around 13,500 homes through its Kickstart programme; 1,000 homes through LANB and a further 6,500 homes started using additional NAHP funding pledged in June as part of the government’s Building Britain’s Future campaign.

The HCA will publish a further set of six monthly statistics in May/June 2010.