Hackney Council’s Affordable Housing policy, LP13, sets out the Council’s thresholds and requirements for affordable housing contributions on developments. It states that “the Council will seek the maximum reasonable amount of affordable housing, subject to viability and site context.”
Like many councils in London, Hackney’s Affordable Housing Policy is very strict and can make a development unviable.
For larger developments, of 10 or more units, the Council require an affordable housing contribution of 50%. This is usually required to be on-site and only in exceptional circumstances would an off-site financial contribution be accepted for larger developments.
For smaller developments, Hackney requires a financial contribution which can be either £50,000 or £60,000 per unit!
The Council’s S106 Planning Contributions Supplementary Planning Document includes a table which sets out the policy in more detail:
However, affordable housing is required subject to viability. That means that if a development is agreed to be unviable, it will not need to provide a contribution. Therefore, if you believe that Policy LP13 is making your development unviable, you might consider submitting a Viability Assessment with your application.
A Viability Assessment will fully evaluate the values and costs associated with your scheme to understand whether any developer contributions, including affordable housing, should be provided. If you would like assistance with an assessment, please feel free to get in touch, and we would be more than happy to help!