Key Points: Affordable Housing & Local Building

Affordable Housing with a Proven Model

• In the U.S., "affordable housing" programmes ensure homes are built and sold or rented at rates ordinary people can manage - not at inflated market prices.
• ReClaim supports adapting this model for the UK, ensuring affordability is protected in law, not left to developers' goodwill.
• These homes would be for first-time buyers, renters, and families - designed to stay affordable long-term, not flipped for profit.

Community-Led Building Programmes

• Local housing projects should be driven by communities, councils, and cooperatives - not just corporate developers.
• Residents get a real say in where and how homes are built, ensuring new housing fits local needs and doesn't just line the pockets of big builders.

Linking Housing to Training and Jobs

• A national building programme could double as a training scheme, giving young people and unemployed workers the chance to learn skills in construction, electrics, plumbing, and eco-building.
• This tackles the skills shortage, provides decent jobs, and ensures housing is built affordably, by local workers, for local communities.

Eco-Homes for Lower Bills

• New housing should be built to modern eco-standards: insulated, energy-efficient, and where possible fitted with solar or plug-in solar
• Lower energy bills mean affordability continues after purchase or rental, easing cost of living pressures.

Protecting Local Communities

• Affordable housing must prioritise local people first - stopping speculative buy-to-lets, second homes, and corporate landlords from pushing residents out.
• Homes built in Norfolk, for example, should go first to people who live and work there.

Public Land for Public Good

• ReClaim will push for unused public land and brownfield sites to be made available for affordable housing programmes.
• Instead of being sold off to private developers, this land can be the foundation for community-led housing growth.

A Long-Term Investment

• Building affordable homes isn't just about bricks and mortar - it's about creating stability.
• Secure housing reduces health pressures, supports families, and boosts the local economy by giving people money to spend in their communities instead of on excessive rents.