The property industry urgently needs a clear strategy and strong, consistent leadership from the next UK Government. As the nation prepares to go to the polls on Thursday 4 July Propertymark has examined the manifesto promises on housing from major parties to see what is on offer to voters who care about the future of our sector.

On Thursday 2 May 2024, Londoners will cast their votes for the next Mayor and 25 Assembly Members. With a population of over nine million, and the highest house sales and rental values in the country, London presents unique challenges. Propertymark has written to the candidates outlining our housing plan for London, highlighting key priorities for the next four years and our proposals for addressing the city’s crisis in housing availability.

Propertymark is encouraging the UK Government to explore all viable methods of increasing the delivery of homes, however, the approach must not lose sight of the importance of creating decent homes that people want to buy in the places they want to live. In our consultation response to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) we suggest improvements to their proposals that will help avoid unintended consequences.

Rt Hon Michael Gove, MP, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, has demanded a partial review of the London Plan focusing on industrial land and opportunity areas in the capital, and wants the average rate of delivery to increase from 37,200 to more than 62,300 homes a year to tackle housing delivery backlogs.

The UK Government’s detailed proposals for the 2025 Future Homes and Buildings Standards will amend existing legislation to set new minimum energy efficiency requirements for buildings in England. Most changes will apply to new homes and non-domestic buildings and should ensure no further work will be needed for new buildings to produce zero carbon emissions as the electricity grid decarbonises.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer delivered his Spring Budget on 6 March 2024, likely to be the last before a General Election. Whilst a cut in Capital Gains Tax on property transactions will be welcomed, the sector will be disappointed that key measures, such as stamp duty breaks for last time buyers, increasing mortgage availability and a suspension of the 3% stamp duty land tax premium on buy-to-let purchases have been overlooked.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published a report on housebuilding and found the dominance of speculative private development paired with complex, unpredictable planning rules is the major cause of the long-term shortfall of new homes in the UK.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) carried out a first consultation on the implementation of the levy which closed on 7 February 2023. The current technical consultation concentrates on the methodology for levy calculation, the collection process, disputes and appeals and further exemptions.

The Affordable Homes Guarantee Scheme 2020 has had a boost of £3 billion to provide low-cost, flexible, and long-term loans to help fund investment in new and existing affordable homes across England, including those for social rent, affordable rent, and shared ownership.  

Every council in England will be told they must reduce bureaucracy and be more flexible on planning proposals that boost housebuilding in urban areas, in line with the UK Government’s long-term plan for housing.

The Devolved Government has been restored after 24 months of no activity. Whilst the Civil Service moved ahead with some actions, there are issues for the housing sector which have been on hold. Ministers must now act to make key improvements to address supply, implement the rest of the Private Tenancies Act, and rule out rent controls to protect the private rented sector.

The Consumer Code for Home Builders has produced a new code compliance starter kit for agents and home builders, in partnership with Propertymark which is now available to download.

Propertymark was invited to give evidence to the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee (LUHCC) as part of their inquiry into the role the UK Government, local councils and developers have in ensuring the delivery of suitable housing for disabled people, and what the UK Government can do to support disabled tenants in the private rented sector.

Propertymark has strong reservations about the wisdom of proposals for street vote development orders (SVDOs), which will give residents the ability to propose new developments on their streets and vote on whether planning permission should be granted. We are not convinced that the benefits outweigh the additional burden on local planning authorities, who are already under significant pressure.

Propertymark has welcomed the UK Government’s decision to lift safeguarding directions along the former HS2 route between the West Midlands and Crewe, which means HS2 limited will no longer object to proposed development in the area.

The Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NI Chamber) has published its recommendations for the reform of the region’s planning system, to boost progress towards net zero, facilitate economic growth and deliver much needed affordable housing.