A New Government with Ambitious Plans
With Labours recent landslide victory, the new Government has set out an ambitious agenda aimed at addressing some of the most pressing issues facing the nation. Among their primary focuses are reforms in property and housebuilding.
These areas have significant implications for our clients, so the team here at RLK have looked at some of the proposals to see how they may affect you. We like to be at the forefront of changes and developments so that we can provide the best advice.
Property Reforms
The UK property market has long been a contentious issue, with rising house prices and a shortage of affordable housing being persistent problems. The Government aims to tackle these issues through a series of reforms designed to increase housing supply and make home ownership more accessible.
Identify the ‘Grey Belt’
The ‘grey belt is what Labour refer to as ‘poor quality or ugly areas within the green belt’ that can be used for development. Such as wasteland, abandoned petrol stations or disused car parks.
It’s unclear what percentage of the green belt is made up of so called ‘grey belt’ sites, but if a new category can be created and if those sites can be quickly identified, it could go some way to helping the Government reach their housing targets.
Increasing Affordable Housing
One of the cornerstones of Labour’s property policy is the commitment to building more affordable homes. The Government plans to invest heavily in social housing, with a target of constructing hundreds of thousands of new homes over the next decade. The hope is that this initiative will alleviate the housing crisis by providing more options for those on lower incomes and reducing homelessness.
The challenge they face, is that in the past 20 years, where housebuilding has occurred, the majority has not been social housing, thereby pricing many families out of being able to purchase. In fact, according to PBC Today in October 2023, England has the lowest number of houses available in the developed world, and the highest rate of inadequate housing in Europe at 15%.
The Government will need to address this by encouraging housebuilders to build in areas that need it and to build truly affordable homes. They also will need to tackle the issue of infrastructure, as building homes without the supporting infrastructure has led to the increase of the NIMBY (Not in My Back Yard) attitude towards housebuilding in many communities as they see an increase in population but not of infrastructure to support it.
Rent Control and Tenant Rights
Another significant aspect of Labour’s property reform is the introduction of rent controls and an end to no fault evictions to protect tenants from exorbitant rent increases and being served notice to leave often at very short notice.
The Government proposes to cap rent rises in line with inflation and provide greater security for renters through longer-term tenancy agreements. These measures are intended to offer tenants more stability and protect them from sudden, unaffordable rent hikes.
While not overly popular with Landlords, these measures will be extremely welcome to renters, who in some cases are paying almost double what they would in rent than for a mortgage.
Green Building Initiatives
In line with their environmental agenda, the Labour Government is also focusing on making new and existing homes more energy efficient. They plan to introduce stringent green building standards and provide grants for homeowners to retrofit their properties with energy-saving technologies. This approach not only aims to reduce carbon emissions but also to lower energy bills for households. There hasn’t been a lot of detail on this aspect of the Government’s plans, and it remains to be seen how much of an impact the proposed grants will make to homeowners.
It’s clear that the new Government has big plans and lots of ambition that reflect their commitment to creating a fairer, more equitable society as they see it, and we should get more of an idea of their priorities in the upcoming King’s Speech on Wednesday 17th July 2024.
They face huge challenges and obstacles so as these proposals begin to take shape, their impact will be closely watched. If they manage to meet their goals, it has the potential to bring about significant positive changes across the nation.
Stay tuned for more information and commentary from the RLK team.
