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homelessness and inadequate housing, there is essentially due to the scarcity of land, but the way the land market

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1.7 million households waiting for social housing. However, last year, the government has set a modest target of 150,000 new affordable homes to be built over four years. At present there are serious doubts about even this will be achieved, given the changes to benefit rules.

But it should not be. The analysis we have done in the New Economics Foundation shows that fewer than 200,000 per year of affordable housing could be built within the budget constraints themselves - if the government and industry working together to reduce the subsidy per household is required

The main problem is the cost of land. In 1981, Amartya Sen has shown that the Bengal famine that occurred in the 1940s was not primarily due to the shortage of food but by poverty and the functioning of the market and distribution system operated. Similarly, inadequate housing, are not primarily due to the scarcity of land, but because of how the land market works.

This is reflected in the fact that social landlords pay an average of more than 1 million pounds per acre, or about £ 40 000 per house - over 100 times the price of agricultural land. As a result, affordable housing must be heavily subsidized by taxpayers - either through capital grants to housing authorities (also an average of about £ 40 000 per unit) or housing allowance. The whole system is a conduit for taxpayers to landowners and speculators, the more irritating because the benefits to the owners "largely the result of state action (mainly planning decisions and the investment in infrastructure).

is a fact that many people assume that it is natural and fair and that any attempt to deal with it is "politically unrealistic", virtually no other possible or unfair.

However, there is a combination of measures that could work and be fair. Would ensure that much of the value created by the state through planning decisions and investment in infrastructure is captured by the taxpayers - and this is used to buy land for social housing

These include:

a 80% capital gains tax on sale of land to more than £ 80,000 per acre (for example), most of this being linked to subsidize the purchase of landowner social

residential permits a certain minimum size to be granted only to owners of social housing - which would have the right to sell the private developers for owner occupation, but subject to detailed regulations on how to use the advantages

Why this job? First, of course, the tax would generate funds, which would reduce the net price of land for social housing.

Second, the land without permission, but with few prospects for development - most of the land of the "land banks" private property - all of a sudden be of value to social landlords. This would reduce, but not to destroy land values ??- social landlords compete for land, especially taking into account their right to sell some in

Third, social landlords who receive their right to sell the land to other developers, and therefore more appropriate for profit. In addition, their exclusive right to encourage transactions and therefore, increase the proportion of income captured by the taxes of 80%.

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