RICS says government must reinstate housing targets

The government must reinstate housebuilding targets and rethink planned reforms to the rental market, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has said. The majority of lettings agents surveyed by the RICS – a net balance of 40% – have seen demand from would-be tenants increase over the past three months. A similar number reported a fall in the number of new instructions received from landlords, while the vast majority expect rents to continue to rise over summer. Samuel Rees, senior public affairs officer at the RICS, said it was growing “increasingly concerned about the pressures facing the rental market”. Rees believes proposed changes in the Renters Reform Bill, designed to deliver a better deal for those renting, will increase pressure on landlords and may force even more to exit the market. RICS also called on the government to reinstate compulsory housebuilding targets for local areas, which were dropped in December after Conservative MPs threatened to rebel against the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill. The net balance of agents who flagged a drop in new buyer demand last month was 37%, up from 30% in the previous two months. Demand is falling in “virtually all parts of the UK”, although Northern Ireland bucked the trend with agents there seeing a small pick-up in enquiries. To send feedback, e-mail piers.wehner@eg.co.uk or tweet @PiersWehner or @EGPropertyNews