Housing delivery test

Following last year’s Housing White Paper, the draft revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) has slightly amended the proposed test that the Government will use to assess whether councils are delivering the homes they need. On the face of it, the housing delivery test (HDT) seems relatively straightforward, comparing past housing delivery to past housing need. However, complexity arises due to three factors:

• The availability and time-periods of the data on which the test is based;

• The methodology for measuring housing need is set to change and become standardised; and,

• The thresholds for the test are set to become more onerous over time.

This Insight Focus explores how the test will work between 2018 and 2021 and estimate which councils will need to push forward with housing delivery if they are to avoid requiring additional action from central Government.