Housing Delivery Test

The Housing Delivery Test (HDT) is an annual measurement of housing delivery published by the government at local authority level. The HDT measures the number of new homes built over the previous three years against the authority's housing requirement. Local planning authorities are required to take appropriate actions where certain delivery target thresholds, as set out in the NPPF, are not met. These actions are as follows:

• Where housing delivery falls below 95% of local authority's housing requirement, local planning authorities should prepare a 'Housing Action Plan' that sets out the causes of under delivery and the intended actions to increase housing delivery within its administrative area.
• Where housing delivery falls below 85% of the local authority's housing requirement, and the Local authority is required to demonstrate a five year housing land supply, a 20% buffer on the local planning authority's five-year housing land supply position should be applied.
• Where housing delivery falls below 75% of the local authority's housing requirement, the NPPFs presumption in favour of sustainable development (paragraph 11, footnote 8 of the NPPF) will apply in decision-taking.

It should be noted that these consequences apply concurrently. For example, if the local planning authority falls below 85% of its housing delivery target, then an 'Housing Action Plan' should be produced, as well as the application of a 20% buffer on its five-year housing land supply position.

The HDT consequences set out above will apply the day following the publication of the HDT results, at which point they supersede previously published results.

Housing Delivery Test Action Plan

As a result of the 2020 HDT result, published in January 2021, the Council prepared a Housing Delivery Test Action Plan (270 KB).

2022 Housing Delivery Test Results

The 2022 HDT results were published by government on 19 December 2023 however the result published for Fareham has subsequently been amended as set out in a letter dated 10 April 2024 from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (54 KB).

As a consequence of the 2022 result, the Council will seek to update the Housing Delivery Test Action Plan.