Veterans and key workers to get 30% discounted homes in First Homes policy

The government will today launch a consultation on its plans to make discounted new homes available to first-time buyers.

The First Homes policy, which will see homes offered for sale at a 30% discount to local purchasers, was first mentioned in the December Queen’s Speech just days after Boris Johnson assumed office as prime minister.

The policy follows the Tory manifesto promise to get homes built for sale at a discount of 30% to local purchasers, and has been viewed in some quarters as a reworking of the failed Starter Homes initiative.

The consultation proposes that local people, forces veterans and key workers such as nurses, police officers and firefighters will be eligible to benefit from the homes.

Housing secretary Robert Jenrick said the policy would ultimately enable a new generation of homeowners to take their first step onto the housing ladder.

“I know that many who are seeking to buy their own home in their local areas have been forced out due to rising prices,” he said. “A proportion of new homes will be made available at a 30% market discount rate – turning the dial on the dream of homeownership.”

The government has previously said the 30% discount on the homes will be secured through a covenant, ensuring the homes remain affordable in perpetuity. The government also confirmed the discount would be funded by developers in the same way as existing planning obligations, and has said before that it will consider both planning changes and legislation in order to deliver the policy.

However, legislation to enable starter homes is already on the statute books, so before the consultation is published, it is unclear what laws will be needed to make the first homes policy a reality.

It is also unclear exactly how the government intends to allow people to prove they are local residents and therefore able to access the homes.

There are also concerns the policy could force developers to build these homes even where local authorities would rather affordable rented homes are provided. The David Cameron-era Starter Homes policy was originally intended to require 20% of homes on every scheme in any local authority to comprise starter homes, which campaigners said would have seriously reduced the provision of new affordable homes for rent.

Cllr David Renard, housing spokesman for the Local Government Association, said it was important that policies to support first-time buyers did not come at the expense of providing truly affordable homes for rent.

“Not everybody is ready to buy and we will be making the case in this consultation that local areas will need discretion on the number of First Homes required in new developments.”

However, the government said its policies, including Help to Buy, were already helping more people on the housing ladder, with recent official figures showing the percentage of home-owning 25- to 34-year-olds has grown from 36% to 41% over the last five years – the first rise in a generation.