Government's housing strategy appears to lack substantive measures, according to recent critique
In a bid to tackle the ongoing housing crisis, the UK government has unveiled plans to "turbocharge" housebuilding. These plans, outlined in the recent King's Speech, have received a mixed response from experts, who while acknowledging the necessity of the move, stress the need for complementary policies to ensure the plans' success.
According to official data, no-fault evictions led to a record 25,910 households being threatened with homelessness in 2023. In response, the government has pledged to provide greater protections to renters by abolishing no-fault evictions.
Ian Barnett, National Land Director at Leaders Roman Group, believes the King's Speech suggests a new direction that could help stifled development and growth. Keir Starmer also plans to devolve spatial planning powers to metro mayors, a move that is seen as a step towards addressing regional variations in housing markets.
The government's plan includes reforming planning procedures to achieve a target of delivering 1.5 million new homes. This ambitious target, however, may not be enough to address the deepening housing crisis, according to Lee Bloomfield, Chief Executive of the Manningham Housing Association.
Experts emphasize the need for sustainable, energy-efficient homes as part of any large-scale building program. The focus on eco-friendly, climate-resilient housing is growing, with calls for new homes that meet future environmental standards rather than simply increasing quantity.
While the government aims to increase housing supply rapidly to ease affordability and availability issues, leading estate agents like Savills have downgraded predictions for UK house price growth in 2025 from 4% to about 1%. This suggests a weakening housing market despite attempts to boost supply.
Data suggest that housing markets with lower average prices (below £250k) are experiencing stronger growth (3-9% annually), while more expensive areas stagnate. This uneven recovery reflects supply-demand imbalances and affordability constraints that legislative boosts alone might not resolve immediately.
Reports indicate slight improvements in affordability measures, such as the house price to earnings ratio falling to its lowest in over a decade. However, rental costs continue to rise sharply, contributing to an ongoing affordability crisis and placing pressure on the government to address rentals as well as ownership.
Some economists caution that broader economic conditions—such as potential recession risks, interest rate fluctuations, and inflationary pressures—may constrain the impact of government plans to accelerate construction. Confidence in sustained market improvement depends on these macroeconomic factors as much as on legislative ambition.
The National Federation of Builders has been lobbying for apprenticeship levy reform and is pleased that the King's Speech agrees with their recommendation. Oli Sherlock, Managing Director of Insurance at Goodlord, called for a plan to address the court backlog to ensure the success of the Renters' Rights Bill.
Cris McGuinness, Chief Financial Officer at Riverside, welcomes the housing and planning bill being at the center of the new government's first King's Speech. However, McGuinness urges the government to commit to a long-term settlement for social housing rents, as rental income for social housing is now 15% lower in real terms compared with 2015.
Abolishing Section 21 evictions could prevent thousands of households from becoming homeless each year, according to McGuinness. Nicholas Harris, Chief Executive at Stonewater, expressed eagerness for more defined details on how the government will achieve its housing targets.
Richard Beresford, Chief Executive of the National Federation of Builders, supports the government's focus on enabling growth and removing barriers. However, he echoes the sentiments of many experts, stating that planning reform alone is not enough to solve the housing crisis.
In summary, while the UK government’s legislative push to "turbocharge" housebuilding is a necessary step toward addressing the housing crisis, experts suggest it is unlikely to be sufficient on its own. The effectiveness of these plans will depend on complementary policies addressing affordability, rental market regulation, sustainability requirements, and economic stability.
- The UK government's plans to boost housebuilding, as outlined in the recent King's Speech, aim to deliver 1.5 million new homes, but experts argue that this might not be enough to address the deepening housing crisis.
- In addition to increasing housing supply, experts emphasize the need for sustainable, energy-efficient homes as part of any large-scale building program, focusing on eco-friendly, climate-resilient housing that meets future environmental standards.
- Abolishing no-fault evictions is seen as a crucial step in addressing the ongoing housing crisis, with some estimating that this measure could prevent thousands of households from becoming homeless each year.
- Experts call for complementary policies to ensure the success of the government's housing plans, focusing on addressing affordability, rental market regulation, sustainability requirements, and economic stability.
- Alongside housing policies, there are calls for reforms in areas such as apprenticeship levy and rental court backlogs to help ensure the success of the government's housing and planning objectives.
