Property heavyweights want a moveable housing solution dubbed ‘meanwhile housing’ to be recognised by the planning system in a bid to save tax-payer cash and help alleviate the housing crisis, according to a new report by Modomo, a company seeded by Round Hill Capital, that will be released next week.
In London alone, meanwhile housing could create 250,000 homes across an area equal to the size of Lambeth.
Meanwhile housing uses moveable, modular homes that can be installed quickly on a short to medium-term basis on vacant land, accommodating people who otherwise might have to seek temporary accommodation at an inflated cost to taxpayers.
This could provide a real solution for those struggling to find affordable accommodation while reducing the impact of derelict space in creating an ‘urban blight’ effect on urban streetscapes.
Experts have said in Modomo’s new report published next week that meanwhile housing could become an institutional asset class like build-to-rent, while also helping accelerate the growth of large developments that can take years to complete.
Instead, a housing operator could be appointed by a landowner or local authority to provide modular housing units on a fixed-term contract, providing installation and placemaking for a site, before the units can be removed and relocated to another site in the pipeline after the start of permanent redevelopment.
The sheer number of people living in temporary accommodation, which reached over 90,000 UK households last year, means that whole communities could be created overnight.
Advisers to the meanwhile housing provider include modular housing architects ShedKM, the chief designers of Urban Splash’s factory-built homes, and planning consultants DP9.
Savills, YMCA and UK Green Building Council are calling on the newly-formed government to add the concept of meanwhile housing into the planning system, so that developers of big sites are able to include it. Meanwhile housing could save local authorities tens of millions of pounds.
Kirk Lindstrom, chief investment officer at Round Hill Capital, said: “Modomo is at the very edge of innovation here. In five years, I hope Modomo and meanwhile housing have grown into a well-known investment and sector.”
“We see issues with the unavailability of land, the affordability of building, and the time to complete especially within the context of the current planning system. Meanwhile housing can act as a force that disrupts this system and addresses some of these systemic issues.”
John Baker, co-founder and chief development officer at Modomo, said: “Given Round Hill Capital’s partnership with institutions like CPPIB, it makes perfect sense that they have supported a move that could create real social impact. Meanwhile housing could provide a roof over the heads of those most in need. And by having more people living on sites earlier, funding for schools and shops can come forward quicker, creating a snowball effect of growth. That is why we are calling on the new government to ensure meanwhile housing becomes cemented within planning policy.”
The report highlights that the ‘true’ number of people in need of social housing in England is approximately 3.8million or 1.6million households, while 3.4million people are assessed to be living in overcrowded households.
Shelter, the housing and homelessness charity, says 86% of local authority funding for temporary accommodation is paid directly to private landlords. Instead, this funding could be spent on a meanwhile housing on their own land, a move that has been successfully trialled across the Netherlands.
The full report is due to be published next week.
