Government proposals to overhaul the new homes bonus scheme have come under fire for ignoring the fact so many new homes are now built using permitted development rights which fall outside the scheme's parameters, sparking claims of unfairness in the system.
The consultation on the future of the new homes bonus scheme, which was launched last month, sets out possible changes such as revising the thresholds for payments, raising the baseline percentage growth of housing stock for eligibility to the scheme from 0.4% to either 0.6%, 0.8% or 1% to encourage more ambitious delivery.
Alternatively, the government proposes linking the bonus to an increase in the rate of house build rather than growth by rewarding councils for improving their housing delivery over an annual average of their past net additions.