Election 2024 Manifesto round-up | Labour: Housing

Commitments include to immediately legislate to abolish Section 21 'no-fault' evictions and take steps to improve standards by extending 'Awaab's Law' to the private sector

The Labour Party has today launched its manifesto ahead of the General Election on 4 July 2024.

Housing-related commitments contained in Change include to -

• Support private renters by -
  • immediately legislating to abolish Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions;
  • empowering tenants to challenge unreasonable rent increases;
  • taking steps to raise standards, including by extending 'Awaab's Law' to the private sector; and
  • ensuring homes in the private rented sector meet minimum energy efficiency standards by 2030, saving renters hundreds of pounds per year.

• Support leaseholders by -
  • bringing the 'feudal' leasehold system to an end by enacting the package of Law Commission proposals on leasehold enfranchisement, right to manage and commonhold;
  • taking further steps to ban new leasehold flats and ensuring commonhold is the default tenure;
  • tackling unregulated and unaffordable ground rent charges and acting to bring the injustice of 'fleecehold' private housing estates and unfair maintenance costs to an end; and
  • reviewing how to better protect leaseholders from the costs of building safety remediation works, taking steps to accelerate the pace of remediation,and ensuring that those responsible for the building safety crisis pay to put it right.

• Get back on track to end homelessness by developing a new cross-government strategy working with Mayors and Councils across the country.

• Support homeownership by introducing a permanent mortgage guarantee scheme to support first-time buyers who struggle to save for a large deposit.

• Protect and increase the provision of social and affordable housing by -
  • reviewing the increased Right to Buy discounts introduced in 2012 and increasing protections on newly-built social housing;
  • prioritising the building of new social rented homes;
  • making changes to the Affordable Homes Programme to ensure that it delivers more homes from existing funding; and
  • supporting councils and housing associations to build their capacity and make a greater contribution to affordable housing supply.

• Increase housing supply by -
  • committing to deliver 1.5 million homes in England in the next Parliament;
  • immediately updating the National Policy Planning Framework to restore mandatory housing targets; and
  • building a generation of new towns in partnership with local leaders and communities.

For more information, see Change: Labour Manifesto 2024 from labour.org.uk

See also the Labour Party's commitments in relation to: Welfare Rights; Employment; and Community Care.

NB - manifestos from the range of main parties include: Conservative: Clear Plan, Bold Action, Secure Future | Green: Real hope, real change | Labour: Change | Liberal Democrat: For a Fair Deal | Scotland: Alba: Yes to Scottish Independence | Scottish Conservative and Unionist: Focused on your priorities | Scottish Labour: Our National Recovery Plan | Scottish National Party: A future made in Scotland | Wales: Plaid Cymru: For fairness, for ambition, for Wales | Welsh Labour: Change | Northern Ireland: Alliance: Leading Change | Democratic Unionist Party: Making Northern Ireland Work | Sinn Fein: Strong Leadership, Positive Change | Social Democratic and Labour Party: An Election for Change

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