Under Part V of the Act it is a requirement of planning permission for new housing developments that a certain portion of the land - up to 20% - be reserved to meet the need for social and affordable housing.

Part V of the Act enables local authorities to achieve this strategy by requiring housing developers to enter into an agreement, with the appropriate Local Authority, to provide houses, fully or partially serviced sites, or land or an equivalent monetary contribution for the purposes of Social and Affordable Housing. It also sets out the terms of such agreements and the manner in which compensation will be decided.

However, in view of the current economic climate and resulting funding constraints it is unlikely that the Local Authority would be in a position to purchases houses, sites or land and in any negotiations the preferred option for compliance with Part V would be the payment of a monetary contribution.