The minister said the Prime Minister and the government were determined to put housing on centre stage and that the government had identified enough land to build 80,000 homes.
The government is now working with nine government departments and organisations including the BBC, Network Rail and Royal Mail to find even more unused sites for house building, meaning ministers are on course to release enough land for 100,000 homes by 2015.
Shapps also announced the details of the NewBuy Guarantee Scheme, the government’s new build mortgage indemnity scheme.
The scheme has a March 2012 launch date and it will now be accessible to the wider home-buying population and not just limited to first-time buyers.
Under the scheme, a home buyer will be able to borrow at 95% loan to value in order to get them into a new-build property. It will be available to UK citizens for new build houses and flats up to £500,000.
The minister is also devolving power from Whitehall to town halls, ending a long-standing “tax on tenants” in a £19bn deal enabling councils to keep the rents they collect and invest the money in their homes.
Shapps said: “The pattern of the past has been to produce endless policies and initiatives that simply gather dust on Whitehall shelves and lead to inaction and inertia.
“But with the Prime Minister putting housing centre stage on the road to economic recovery, I am determined that we shall not repeat these mistakes of the past.
“That's why I'm pulling out all the stops for those who want to get on the property ladder, so from March the NewBuy Guarantee Scheme will be on hand to help people buying newly built properties with just a fraction of the deposit they would normally need.”
Shapps added it was also why he was working across Whitehall to ensure the government released enough public land for 100,000 new homes by 2015.
“But I'm looking beyond Westminster and want to see organisations like the BBC, Royal Mail and Network Rail also follow our lead,” Shapps says.
“And for those languishing on council waiting lists, my message is clear: we are doing all we can to bring your wait to an end.
“That's why today I'm laying the final foundations for a £19 billion deal that will end the 'tenants tax' and give councils the freedom they need to build more homes in their area.”
Grenville Turner, chief executive of Countrywide, said today’s announcement was a positive signal of the government’s intentions to bring housing to the forefront of the political and economical agenda.
Turner said: “We are pleased to see that the NewBuy Guarantee Scheme will be accessible to the wider home buying population and not just limited to first-time buyers.
“As deposit affordability continues to be one of the most restrictive barriers to purchasing a property, we are seeing a greater level of competiveness from lenders in the higher loan to value mortgage range and opening up the restrictions on prospective buyers who can access the NewBuy Guarantee Scheme can only be a good thing for the market.
“In addition we welcome any measures that provide added protection to leaseholders in the current climate.
“We have seen rental demand increase significantly, leading to a serious shortage of rental properties available to let.
“With an average of five tenants competing for each available rental property, any government support to encourage investment in the buy-to-let sector and assist leaseholders to stay in their home when their lease comes to an end.”
