Ahead of what will be the government’s first budget announcement following the election, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), has called for changes to the private and public rented sectors.
What the government should be focusing on, according to the RICS, is more help for people who rent. This will help to address the issue with low housing supply, in addition to further measures such as supporting local plans and small builders as well as extending the use of more brownfield land for construction, the institute says.
Jeremy Blackburn, head of policy at the RICS, comments:
“Targets for owner-occupation, rather than greater capacity across all tenures, is the consistent message we are getting from government.
While the Prime Minister and the Chancellor have called a plan for ‘one nation home ownership’, we urgently need to increase genuinely affordable homes for rent in both public and private sectors.
There are many for whom it is neither possible nor desirable to buy, so encouraging the institutionalised Private Rented Sector (PRS) and freeing up council and housing associations to build this much needed rented accommodation are vital.
Enforcing local plans, using brownfield sites and more finance for smaller builders, are all steps in the right direction, but need to be part of an overall coordinated strategy.”
