Reform UK Deputy leader Richard Tice today announced radical plans to overhaul the way social housing is allocated in Britain.
In major changes to the current system, British-born workers under the age of 35 will be placed at the front of the queue with priority given to married couples with children. Priority will also be given to veterans.
Social housing will also be prioritised for British nationals who are in work. Reform UK believes social housing should not be a reward for welfare.
Reform UK have already committed to removing foreign nationals from social housing, pledging to evict them after a short grace period. The move is expected to free up hundreds of thousands of social homes.
Reform UK estimates 540,000 social homes are currently occupied by foreign nationals.
Of the 1.3m currently on waiting lists, 15 per cent - some 195,0000 households - are foreign.
Meanwhile, at a press conference in central London this morning, Mr Tice also laid out the party’s bold vision to build 50,000 affordable social homes a year.
He explained how the investment required for the scheme will be fiscally neutral and will require no new taxes or borrowing.
There will also be strict criteria reintroduced for the maintenance of property and estates, with evictions for repeated breaches of standards.
Richard Tice said:
'There are now 1.3 million people waiting for social housing in Britain. The vast majority of them do not have jobs. In terms of the social houses we have, less than half of households are in work and over half a million social homes are currently occupied by foreign nationals.
'Meanwhile, young British men and women, who are working hard, can’t afford to move out of their family home, and when they do often find themself sharing a house with strangers, with no realistic prospect of forming a family or getting on.
'It is time for us to prioritise young British workers, and that is what our policy is about.
'I have spent my entire career in property development, as a private citizen I have led companies which delivered thousands of new homes. In Government I will break down the barriers to getting generation rent onto the housing ladder.
'It is time to get Britain building. It is time for someone who understands how housing works to take charge. Let's give our young people the homes they deserve.
'Britain’s housing market is broken. Housing needs Reform.'
In major changes to the current system, British-born workers under the age of 35 will be placed at the front of the queue with priority given to married couples with children. Priority will also be given to veterans.
Social housing will also be prioritised for British nationals who are in work. Reform UK believes social housing should not be a reward for welfare.
Reform UK have already committed to removing foreign nationals from social housing, pledging to evict them after a short grace period. The move is expected to free up hundreds of thousands of social homes.
Reform UK estimates 540,000 social homes are currently occupied by foreign nationals.
Of the 1.3m currently on waiting lists, 15 per cent - some 195,0000 households - are foreign.
Meanwhile, at a press conference in central London this morning, Mr Tice also laid out the party’s bold vision to build 50,000 affordable social homes a year.
He explained how the investment required for the scheme will be fiscally neutral and will require no new taxes or borrowing.
There will also be strict criteria reintroduced for the maintenance of property and estates, with evictions for repeated breaches of standards.
Richard Tice said:
'There are now 1.3 million people waiting for social housing in Britain. The vast majority of them do not have jobs. In terms of the social houses we have, less than half of households are in work and over half a million social homes are currently occupied by foreign nationals.
'Meanwhile, young British men and women, who are working hard, can’t afford to move out of their family home, and when they do often find themself sharing a house with strangers, with no realistic prospect of forming a family or getting on.
'It is time for us to prioritise young British workers, and that is what our policy is about.
'I have spent my entire career in property development, as a private citizen I have led companies which delivered thousands of new homes. In Government I will break down the barriers to getting generation rent onto the housing ladder.
'It is time to get Britain building. It is time for someone who understands how housing works to take charge. Let's give our young people the homes they deserve.
'Britain’s housing market is broken. Housing needs Reform.'
