Foundations ready to develop first wave of homes

Foundations, Liverpool City Council’s ‘ethical housing company’, has set out a £50 million budget to deliver the first phase of a 10,000 build and refurbishment programme.

A report given to the council’s cabinet has outlined ambitious plans to develop and acquire the first wave of homes for Foundations, recommending the approval to begin recruiting a team of housing experts to deliver the scheme.

Formally established in January, the company aims to ‘accelerate the rent to buy sector’ over the next ten years by offering packages that take a percentage from rent towards a deposit, whilst also creating bespoke properties for the homeless, foster carers, large families, the elderly and people with a disability.

Earmarked to expand to a £500 million programme, Foundations has been labelled as ‘fundamental’ to addressing both the city’s need to develop 30,000 new homes by 2030 and improve the availability of good quality, affordable homes.

The cabinet report has identified four streams of how the housing stock could be developed, covering the Purchase of New Build, New Build on Council Land, the Purchase of Existing Homes and Land Asset Transfer.

Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson said: “Foundations will radically reshape Liverpool’s housing market and is fundamental to ensuring the city’s growth is fair to all – providing quality, affordable homes for people with many differing needs. A lot of work has been going on behind the scenes to get Foundations up and running and the recruitment of the team is the first step to delivering a housing programme that will transform the lives of thousands of people for generations to come. I expect to see a lot of activity over the coming 12 months as the team beds in and plans develop. This will be a real game changer for the city’s housing market and provide a much needed boost to our council tax revenues.”

Frank Hont, cabinet member for Housing, added: “Liverpool, like many cities, has suffered from a lack of government support in the housing sector and Foundations is a great way to unlock a huge amount of potential in communities right across the city. We have housing stock that can be refurbished and we have land that can be built on so the company is already in a great place before the team has even been recruited.

“It’s an exciting prospect for the council to be able to influence the quality of housing and support people who want to buy by turning rent into a deposit. The housing market has malfunctioned for too long and I’m delighted that through Foundations we’re going to be able to correct that in this city.”