Developing and using an evidence base
Understanding what is happening in your housing market area is essential if you are to develop the right approach to affordable housing delivery. To this end you will need to develop a comprehensive evidence base, which as a minimum tells you:
- How many households are in housing need.
- Where these homes are required.
- The type and size of the homes needed.
- The tenure of the homes required, split between social rented and intermediate tenures.
This section provides you with the critical information in understanding how you establish your evidence base for affordable housing and takes you through the process of undertaking a Strategic Housing Market Assessment. It specifically takes you through the policy process map below and following questions.
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Understand what evidence is required to underpin your affordable housing policy.
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Agree what geographical area the research is to cover?
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Develop a brief for and commission the research, if this is not being done in-house
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Once findings are available use them to set affordable housing targets and inform negotiations
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Update your evidence base regularly.
- What is a Strategic Housing Market Assessment?
- Commissioning and preparing the brief for a Strategic Housing Market Assessment, including the issue of how far primary research should be carried out.
- Dealing with different housing markets within and across LA boundaries.
- Why does the evidence base comprise an Economic Viability Assessment of the proposed policy?
- Why is Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment part of the evidence base?
- How do I use the evidence base to establish targets for affordable housing?
- Understanding the need for additional social rented and intermediate housing, and the contribution of the private rented sector.
- Using the evidence base in negotiation.
- Keeping this evidence base up-dated and relevant in a volatile housing market.
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