24dash.com news reports a spat between Unison, which describes the New Homes Bonus as a "con" that would play out unfairly in areas of housing market weakness, and CLG, whose response highlighted the role that empty homes might play in levelling the playng field. CLG's response said that:
"Under the New Homes Bonus, three out of the five top earners this year are in the North or Midlands. This is in part because the extra cash is not only going towards building new homes, but also encouraging councils to bring old homes back into use."
The analysis in our consultation response would place our own interpretation of the impact of the NHB generally closer to that of Unison than to that of CLG but of course we welcome the emphasis given to empty homes and the boost that we hope the New Homes Bonus will give to empty homes strategies up and down the country. It's the best part of the NHB.
The 24dash.com news story can be found here.