09/02/10: Nineteen housing association chief executives call on MPs to support shared ownership

Many of the largest providers of Low Cost Home Ownership in the country are calling on MPs of all parties to support more building of shared ownership homes.

A letter signed by Paul Tennant, chief executive of Orbit Group, was sent to MPs this week on behalf of 19 housing association chief executives. The letter made clear the vital role shared ownership plays in a still expensive housing market and the need for government to continue with strong levels of funding for shared ownership programmes even as public expenditure is scaled back.

Paul Tennant said “Home ownership remains unaffordable for large sections of the population, including many key workers, despite the fall in house prices in recent times. Now prices are going up again, reasonably priced mortgages remain hard to find, and it is essential that we are able to keep building good numbers of new properties for affordable home ownership.

“Unaffordable housing is a massive issue in many MPs’ constituencies. It’s an issue that is particularly important to the ‘squeezed middle’, the low and moderate income ‘hard working families’ MPs are fond of talking about.

“As we approach a general election, we believe there is a real opportunity for MPs to show their solidarity and support for constituents struggling to meet their housing needs effectively. By backing new shared ownership building, MPs can show they really care about what’s important to their voters.

“Shared ownership is a fantastic product, with an excellent 30 year track record of success. It’s very popular with buyers and it’s a superb value for money investment for the government. Even in pretty tough housing market conditions, high demand for shared ownership has never flagged.”