VERIFIED Part of What we found: laws passed, then left switched off
Explore the detail
- Starter Homes: the 2015 Conservative manifesto pledged 200,000 Starter Homes for first-time buyers under 40. The Housing and Planning Act 2016 set up the scheme, but its Starter Homes sections were never switched on. The National Audit Office reported on 5 November 2019: "No Starter Homes have been built to date."
Explorer Pointers
- Housing and Planning Act 2016 (Starter Homes, Part 1) (opens in new tab)
- NAO, Investigation into Starter Homes (5 Nov 2019) (opens in new tab)
- Conservative Party Manifesto 2015 (Starter Homes pledge) (opens in new tab)
Topics: Starter Homes Housing Promises vs delivery Laws not in force
Earlier dots
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The lawFinding
The care cap: passed in 2014, never switched on, still on the books.
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The lawFinding
Almost 1 in 4 Acts passed since 2010 still had parts not in force five years after becoming law.
Topics: Laws not in force Switch-on orders
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The lawFinding
The government doesn't publish a regular list of laws left switched off. So we made one.
Topics: Transparency Laws not in force
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The lawFinding
Once a law stalls, it stays stalled: 58 of 79 stuck Acts haven't had a single new switch-on order in five years.
Topics: Laws not in force Switch-on orders
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PredictionsPrediction · MOVING
Empty-home takeover (the council takes over the running of a long-empty home; the owner keeps ownership): the threshold is cut to 6 months by regulation, then exemptions (second homes, homes for sale) are narrowed
Topics: Empty homes Housing
Last checked 9 Oct 2026. Corrections: Corrections policy · Archive