Housing and Finance Institute

The Housing and Finance Institute (HFI) is an industry group whose stated aim is "to boost the capacity and delivery of housing".[1] The institute is privately funded and works with the private and public sector to build more homes in the United Kingdom.

It was set up by the Cameron–Clegg coalition following a review by Natalie Elphicke and Keith House.[2]

The HFI drew support from Local Partnerships, Pinnacle Group, Keepmoat, Plus Dane and Trowers & Hamlins.[3]

Funding

HFI is funded by the City of London Corporation who agreed to fund the HFI by £40,000 per annum for 2015/16, 2016/17 and 2017/18.[4] Other Founding members are Local Partnerships, Pinnacle Group and Keepmoat. Non-founding members Laing O’Rourke and Home Group.[5]

Organisation

The HFI was established in 2015 with the support of the UK Government, businesses and local authorities. The board of the HFI, was originally chaired by Sir Mark Boleat, a membership drawn from central government, local government and business. The Chief Executive of the Institute is Natalie Elphicke OBE, former independent government adviser and co-author of the Elphicke-House Report on the role of councils in housing supply.

The HFI board[6] consists of

Policies

As well as its work with industry stakeholders to increase the rate of housebuilding, the HFI is also a housing think tank. The HFI launched a six-month government backed pilot research programme on infrastructure which brought together key players from private and public sectors. It followed a HFI paper which highlighted how the failure of some water companies was exacerbating the housing crisis.[7] The report set out an eight-point plan to get Britain building infrastructure in the right places and at the right time in order to support the housebuilding industry.

The HFI has looked extensively at the housing crisis in London. The Institute's chairman, Mark Boleat, has called for a radical planning shake-up to solve London's housing crisis that would professionalise decision-making in the planning system, increase the supply of land suitable for house building and allow substantially greater densities of homes in the capital.[8] Following this report, Chancellor Philip Hammond welcomed planning reform in his 2017 Autumn Budget and announced a review to be conducted by Oliver Letwin. The Letwin Review ultimately determined that slow build out was caused by a lack of diversity in new housing and the incentive of housebuilders to restrict supply to avoid reducing prices.[9]

The HFI has also proposed a series of measures to regenerate Britain’s seaside towns, most notably new rent controls.[10]

References
  1. "The HFI | Home | Our mission". thehfi.com. Housing and finance Institute.
  2. "Dedicated housing finance support for local authorities - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Department for Communities and Local Government. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  3. Keith House; Natalie Elphicke (2016). "Driving Innovation in Housing Finance". First Magazine (February 2016): 13. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  4. "Agenda and Minutes for Policy and Resources Committee on Thursday, 24th September, 2015, 1.45 pm". City of London Corporation. 24 September 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  5. "PIF Proposal: Housing & Finance Institute" (PDF). City Of London Corporation. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  6. "The HFI | Home | Our team". thehfi.com. Housing and Finance Institute. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  7. Morris, Jessica (14 March 2016). "How water companies are exacerbating the housing crisis". City A.M.
  8. "Housing crisis can be solved by 'reining in middle class nimbys'". 18 October 2017.
  9. Letwin, Oliver (29 October 2018). "Independent review of build out: final report".
  10. Knowles, Tom. "Rent caps could help coastal towns all at sea".
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