With the General Election looming, housing policies form a large part of each party’s manifesto.
The future of housing is something in the back of many people’s minds, we’ve analysed the housing policies that make up the manifestoes of The Conservatives, Labour and The Liberal Democrats to help you understand what is being promised by each party.
The rental market now accounts for 20% of the housing market, and many people have a keen interest in the property industry. All parties have made promises towards the housing market, many have put a particular focus on the PRS.
On the analysis, our Chief Operating Officer, Dorian Gonsalves said “Whilst some initiatives may help some tenants, it is unfortunate that the general view seems to be to ‘curb’ smaller BTL investors in favour of large landlords and a reduction in BTL investment altogether. This could cause a further decrease in stock levels, making it much tougher for tenants to secure a property, especially as demand is expected to continue to increase over the coming years.
“All parties are promising an increase in the building of new homes, but the reality is that unless land is sold or developed at a discount, it will be quite difficult to provide rents at anything less than existing landlords are doing. This is already the case in London where large landlords, who are backed by the Government, or Housing Associations and are now entering into the PRS can make renting viable at existing market rents.”
So, what exactly are the promises being made by each individual party?
The Conservatives have said they will build 1 million new homes by 2020, with a further 500,000 being built by 2022. Labour has also pledged to build 1 million new homes but has also said they aim to create at least 100,000 new council and housing association homes each year that will be affordable for rent or sale.
Labour have vowed to scrap Right to Buy, and are joined by the Liberal Democrats with this pledge. In addition to this, The Lib Dems also say they will build 500,000 affordable and energy efficient homes by 2022. Contrary to the other parties’ views on Right to buy, The Conservatives have said they expect to be able to provide 225,000 affordable homes and are promoting Right to Buy for Housing Associations alongside a new initiative that will allow councils and Housing Associations to build more homes. All of the three parties appear to support the continuation of the Help to Buy initiative.
