First Things First – Getting To Grips With First Homes

As part of the Government's commitment to overhaul the planning system and increase home ownership it  has confirmed that it is pressing ahead with its First Homes policy, which came  into force on 28 June.  A new kind of affordable housing, the First Homes scheme will offer discounted properties to first-time home buyers purchasing new build properties.  The guidance and ministerial statement provide details on this newest type of affordable housing and how it will be implemented.

At first reading of the guidance  the terminology looks familiar to that of  discount market sale (DMS) but  there are some key differences, not least, the mandatory requirement (subject to some exceptions such as Build to Rent and schemes delivering 100% affordable housing) that  all schemes delivered by S106 applicant contributions must now provide a minimum affordable quantum of 25% as First Homes. This will have a major impact on the type and tenure of all affordable homes now to be