Planning deregulation as solution to the housing crisis: The affordability, amenity and adequacy of Permitted Development in London
Ian Chng,
Jonathan Reades,
Phil Hubbard
Abstract:Since 2013, Permitted Development Rights (PDR) in England have allowed commercial-to-residential conversions in locations once deemed suitable only for non-residential land-use. This deregulation of planning control has been justified as a way of encouraging more home-building in areas experiencing ‘housing crisis’, but its overall consequences remain unclear. This paper hence compiles quantitative evidence on a city-wide scale on the price, size, build and location of these conversions in London 2013–2021. It… Show more
“…Hence, while many sources have suggested Permitted Development Rights are a major source of small homes, Figure 4 suggests most small homes either predate the Prior Approval process introduced in 2013 or were granted formal planning permission by the local authority in question (noting some of the divergence visible in 2020 and 2021 may be because units were not yet recorded as completed in the London Development Database despite having been issued an EPC). Related examination of the London Planning Database suggests only around 15% of units in major PDR conversions of more than 10 units are below the NDSS (see Chng et al, forthcoming), a figure lower than suggested in some other, more narrowly-focussed, studies of permitted development (Clifford and Ferm, 2021). Figure 4.Newly-built homes granted an EPC, 2010–21, comparing those with planning permission and those completed via PDR.…”
Section: Small Domestic Properties In London 2010–21mentioning
In the last decade, the UK’s media have highlighted an apparent rise in the number of homes below the recommended Nationally Described Space Standard for a one-person, one-bed home. However, evidence for the growth of ‘micro-apartments’ is mixed, with existing data making it difficult to map the geographies of sub-standard homes below the Local Authority scale. Focussing on London, this paper uses Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) as a source of floorspace data, matching this to the Land Registry’s Price Paid Data (PPD) and information from the London Planning Database. It quantifies the number of sub-standard homes in London registered for an EPC 2010–21, maps their location at the MSOA (neighbourhood) level, and compares property prices for small and larger homes. Focusing on newly-built homes, it shows that the numbers of small homes doubled across this period with growth in select outer London ‘hotspots’ accounting for much of this. It also demonstrates the overall numbers of small homes rose despite the formal incorporation of NDSS in the London Plan 2016, with the by-passing of space standards in property conversions under Permitted Development Rights, 2013–21 appearing relatively insignificant in explaining these temporal and spatial trends. Finally, it shows that the price per square metre of small homes often far exceeds that of much larger homes in the same area. While recognising the limitations of EPC data, our findings point to the need for further exploration of the enforcement of space standards, not least because it is often assumed that building more, smaller homes in the capital will create more affordable homes for Londoners.
“…Hence, while many sources have suggested Permitted Development Rights are a major source of small homes, Figure 4 suggests most small homes either predate the Prior Approval process introduced in 2013 or were granted formal planning permission by the local authority in question (noting some of the divergence visible in 2020 and 2021 may be because units were not yet recorded as completed in the London Development Database despite having been issued an EPC). Related examination of the London Planning Database suggests only around 15% of units in major PDR conversions of more than 10 units are below the NDSS (see Chng et al, forthcoming), a figure lower than suggested in some other, more narrowly-focussed, studies of permitted development (Clifford and Ferm, 2021). Figure 4.Newly-built homes granted an EPC, 2010–21, comparing those with planning permission and those completed via PDR.…”
Section: Small Domestic Properties In London 2010–21mentioning
In the last decade, the UK’s media have highlighted an apparent rise in the number of homes below the recommended Nationally Described Space Standard for a one-person, one-bed home. However, evidence for the growth of ‘micro-apartments’ is mixed, with existing data making it difficult to map the geographies of sub-standard homes below the Local Authority scale. Focussing on London, this paper uses Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) as a source of floorspace data, matching this to the Land Registry’s Price Paid Data (PPD) and information from the London Planning Database. It quantifies the number of sub-standard homes in London registered for an EPC 2010–21, maps their location at the MSOA (neighbourhood) level, and compares property prices for small and larger homes. Focusing on newly-built homes, it shows that the numbers of small homes doubled across this period with growth in select outer London ‘hotspots’ accounting for much of this. It also demonstrates the overall numbers of small homes rose despite the formal incorporation of NDSS in the London Plan 2016, with the by-passing of space standards in property conversions under Permitted Development Rights, 2013–21 appearing relatively insignificant in explaining these temporal and spatial trends. Finally, it shows that the price per square metre of small homes often far exceeds that of much larger homes in the same area. While recognising the limitations of EPC data, our findings point to the need for further exploration of the enforcement of space standards, not least because it is often assumed that building more, smaller homes in the capital will create more affordable homes for Londoners.
Build-to-Rent (BTR) developments have expanded rapidly in the UK since 2013, often advertised as providing better quality rented accommodation for university-educated Millennials than available elsewhere in the private rental sector. However, the implications of this type of housing development, and especially its affordability, are poorly understood at the city scale, partly due to a lack of evidence of where these developments cluster and what they add to the housing stock in terms of property type, amenities and cost. This article draws on data relating to 373 BTR developments in London (representing over 40,000 housing units) to show that developments are clustered where transport-related infrastructural investments have opened ‘rent gaps’ that can be exploited by developers. Exploring how these BTR schemes are marketed, the article shows that this accommodation is typically provided through new short-term ‘subscription services’ which allow developers to rent property at a premium. Questioning whether BTRs really add affordable ‘local’ homes to the city, the article concludes that BTR provides ‘quick-fix’ rental accommodation which is doing little to solve London’s housing crisis. We focus on the London BTR market and how the expansion of this housing type is reshaping the sociospatial geographies of the city.
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