Government and policymakers know we aren’t building enough homes, but there is an apparent lack of desire or political bravery to tackle the underlying problem to address it. There have been so many Housing Ministers in recent years that they should install a revolving door into the holder’s office at DLUHC.
Our housebuilders have raised concerns about the planning system being slow and burdensome, mired in local politics and interests, for years. Yet nothing of any substance has been done and the removal of the 300,000 housing target has exacerbated the problem.
Looking at the PRS specifically, the brakes applied to the sector by the Government policies implemented in the latter half of the last decade worked. The rate of growth of the PRS has been curtailed and the number of owner-occupied homes, mortgaged or owned outright, has hit a record level according to the latest English Housing Survey.
That’s great, but owner-occupation will not be the only game in town for our future housing needs. We need to be clear with policymakers and politicians – rented homes will be an important part of the mix and those policies need to be reconsidered in the light of our shifting population demographics.
Policies need to be developed that encourage continued investment in the sector from private landlords who can quickly and efficiently react to local market needs.
Build-to-Rent will undoubtedly be part of the solution, but it will continue to complement rather than replace private landlords. I have said it before, but there is competition for capital; private landlords need a stable and fair regulatory and fiscal environment in which to operate.
As we look towards a new Government in the coming months, we urgently need a radical, holistic, realistic and deliverable plan to meet our future housing needs. We will be working with whichever Government is in place to stress this point.
Anything else is storing up major problems for future generations.
* Richard Rowntree is Managing Director of Mortgages at Paragon Bank *
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