With the election now behind us and a new Conservative cabinet in the forming, experts contemplate what is next for the housing market.
Housing was a big election issue for the first time and a lot of promises were made. Now the time has come to deliver on them.
But what would be first on the Tories’ housing agenda? The market is complex as are its problems and the new government will have its hands full solving the looming property crisis.
First and foremost the government has to ensure the building of enough new homes in the future.
According to letting agency Finders Keepers, the planning permission process needs to be reformed to facilitate a quicker delivery of new housing. The population of the UK, and in particular the Southeast is expected to boom over the next ten years and unless sufficient homes are built to meet this demand, an entire generation will be unable to afford a home of their home, the agency stresses.
Apart from tackling the housebuilding issue, one of the first jobs of the new cabinet, should be to focus on improving the private rented sector (PRS), as the lack of supply pushes rents up and exacerbates the housing crisis.
The industry has recognised the three main complaints within the PRS, which are a) poor property standards, b) Poor service standards from both letting agents and landlords and c) high rents, according to Finders Keepers.
The letting agency says it would like to see more incentives for landlords to invest in their properties. Further welcome changes would be 1) tax breaks on improvements, 2) a simplified Green Deal, which is a new way to pay for energy-saving improvements of your home, 3) a clearer Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS), which is a risk assessment system used by councils to ensure properties are safe for habitation.
Finders Keepers also underscores the importance of regulating of letting agents. The industry has long called for its own regulation to rout out rogue agents and landlords but successive governments have repeatedly missed opportunities to do so, the agency says.
Dan Channer, managing director of Finders Keepers, comments:
“The Conservatives have an incredible opportunity to do the right thing by regulating letting agents and encouraging housebuilding. Regulation is long overdue and ultimately, the only solution to rising rents is supply, supply, supply. Hopefully the Tories will seize this opportunity.”
Tory win ensures future of flood insurance
Flood insurance has emerged as a problematic issue with the expiration of the Statement of Principles and the pressing need for new legislation on the matter.
With the Conservatives now in power, the implementation of the Flood Re scheme is secure, Huw Evans, director general of Association of British Insurers (ABI) says.
“For the insurance industry, this is a Government we can work with. This is a government that will deliver Flood Re as agreed, be interested in further reforms to the Motor market and with which we have been working intensively to deliver the reforms to the long-term savings market. It believes in the London Market and wants to see the UK remain a global centre of excellence in insurance. But it will be far from business as usual with more emphasis on consumer initiatives, more changes to pension tax relief and the challenge to the UK’s membership of the EU,” Evans comments in a reaction to the election results.
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Want to learn more about flood insurance? Read our articles on the topic:
Flood insurance agreement reached
