It's more than a week since we saw the removal vans enter Downing St and Labour’s promise to hit the ground running is, so far at least , seemingly being kept.
Already, negotiations have begun to end the doctor’s strike. Onshore wind is back on the table, and Rwanda is off it. Plus it feels like we’ve heard more about housing since the 5th July than in the whole election campaign.
It seems at last that housing, or more accurately, the housing crisis is about to be tackled. It was always a problem for the Conservatives with a double whammy of nimbys in their core areas and the fact that whatever they did to address it would highlight the inaction of their 14 years in power.
Thankfully, Labour doesn’t have that issue, but many of their now huge number of seats were won in areas where development is resisted—a tightrope for those new MPs to walk.
Make no mistake, the task ahead of Labour is huge.
There are too few houses, too few new builds, a growing population, high prices, high rents, housing insecurity, homelessness, a huge benefits bill, badly maintained social housing, RAAC, cladding, leasehold… where should they begin?
I think there are two key areas.
The first, and the biggie is, supply. The 300,000 target has been missed for so long that we now need a 400,000+ target. New homes will help stem the insatiable demand from buyers. Prioritising owner-occupiers over investors has a downside – developers may be less willing to build for a smaller pool of buyers but I believe it’s a risk worth taking. Start with Council Brownfield, then grey, then get that new town built and fast – we need 1000 new homes a day, 7 days a week, just to keep up.
Second lets talk tenants.
Love it or hate it, the Renters Reform Bill will be toughened up and pushed through parliament quickly. I’m not a fan of it, but the uncertainty it has caused is worse than its effect. It's a case of the medicine being worse than the disease if ever there was one, but on the assumption it's happening, let's just get it over with. Placate beleaguered landlords with an EPC-busting tax break incentivising them to upgrade insulation and heating systems – landlords will benefit as will their tenants living in currently cold, draughty, inefficient homes.
They will be busy.
I sincerely hope that for now at least, they do not waste time, money and resources on regulations in the property sales market that will stifle it, buyer inducements that increase the amount of money in the system which will push up prices or more landlord bashing with tax hikes or rent control.
We have been assured not, but when a problem is this huge, nothing is truly off the table.
A week may be a long time in politics, but with each passing day of inaction the problems our market faces deepen. We need action, and fast.
Jonathan Rolande is the founder of House Buy Fast www.housebuyfast.co.uk
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Not enough meat on the bone there.
There's nothing to criticise about what you've written.
It is however one thing to say what you'd you like to happen, and another to be able to detail the how.
IMO, the biggest block will be getting the desire from the major housebuilders to build more. They know that if demand is fully satiated then house prices won't rise (beyond a basic inflation measure anyway).
Then, you have to consider that the size of correctly skilled workforce required to achieve it doesn't exist, yet.
We haven't even spoken about all the usual suspects like planning either.
Brown & grey sites are often small and irregular shaped plots that need much to be spent in the form of site clearance - although they may have the advantage of ready access to existing infrastructure. To build 300,000 (or even 400,000!) homes a year, the majority of sites will have to be greenfield. Even if enough sites are found, I still can't see where the number of skilled tradespeople required to build in such volume is going to come from.
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