Industry supports Labour’s Freedom to Buy initiative

Real estate leaders have expressed their support for Labour’s Freedom to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme. The scheme will help those struggling to save for a large deposit and is aiming to help up to 80,000 people to home ownership. Under Labour’s plan, the state would act as guarantor for prospective homeowners. The Conservative government has been running a similar programme offering a state guarantee for part of buyers’ mortgages, but it is due to expire in summer 2025. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer will pledge that Labour’s programme would be a permanent scheme. Ian Fletcher, director of policy at the British Property Federation, said: “The only way to tackle the housing emergency is to build more homes. It is therefore welcome to see solutions to the housing crisis from the major parties featuring strongly in the election. Besides homes for sale and affordable housing, there is a desperate need to also increase the supply of market rental homes, student accommodation, and older people’s housing. “These sectors build 35,000 homes a year, when the need is for 100,000. Next week we will set out in our housing manifesto how they can do more to boost supply and help us reach the overall 300,000 homes-a-year target.” Focus on design A spokesperson for Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, agreed with the BPF’s sentiment, adding: “Planning authorities should put a greater focus on design codes for attractive homes that fit community needs, pushing developers and potentially rewarding those who invest in beautiful buildings and streetscape. However, it’s imperative that any design codes do not add an extra layer of bureaucracy to the planning system, which is already suffering from delays, skills shortages and increased red tape.   “We’d also like to see Labour go further and commit to implementing whole-life carbon assessments as part of the planning permission process as a fundamental element in understanding and tackling carbon emissions.” Kevin Sims, director of SO Resi, said: “The biggest barriers for first-time buyers and young people in the past decade has been a triple threat of high rental prices, unstable mortgage rates and increasing house prices. As we edge closer to the looming general election, it is welcome news to hear genuine policy announcements surrounding housing and affordability. “Affordable housing for the UK’s present and future buyers is something which needs to happen now, with concrete long-term policies and numerical targets. Housing supply needs to be at the forefront of party manifestos, as currently there are not enough new-build starts to deliver affordable housing, and we need to build more homes overall to deliver more affordable housing. “Through investment in affordable housing, including shared ownership and other accessible tenures to homeownership, the future government will demonstrate its commitment to tackling the housing crisis and in turn help more people realise their dream of an affordable place to call home.” Delivering aspiration From a housebuilder’s perspective, Stephen Teagle, chief executive of partnerships and regeneration at Vistry Group and chair of the Housing Forum, said: “Vistry welcomes these proposals which will help more prospective buyers into home ownership. A clear focus on the importance of providing access to affordable housing within thriving communities is essential for so many families currently denied choice.  “Owning your own home is an aspiration for many young people and initiatives to facilitate affordable home ownership for households previously denied access, such as Freedom to Buy, will support continued investment in housing delivery. “We look forward to working with the elected government on the design and implementation of a scheme to deliver this aspiration and build more homes, more quickly with more choice. To support this, it is vital the new government moves quickly to confirm funding and rent settlements for housing associations and local authorities to enable affordable new homes to be delivered as quickly as possible.  “We are confident the planning reforms and other initiatives set out by Labour will dismantle some of the current barriers to building more homes, enabling Vistry to work with our partners on delivering the homes that our local communities need.” Craig Carson, managing director of Barratt West London added: “In the face of increasing pressure to build housing, many towns and cities are considering removing their historic buildings by demolishing them. There is a scarcity of ‘obvious’ construction sites left, so many are now looking toward brownfield or even green belt sites. While the argument to protect the UK countryside is, of course, persuasive, 18% of these sites are described as neglected, derelict buildings and should ultimately be classified as brownfield. According to Unlatch, the number of available brownfield sites available in London could provide enough space for around 355,000 new homes. However, if we look closer, we can see there are many hidden pockets of land – the forgotten historic buildings – just waiting for revitalisation. “Retaining original architecture plays an important role in helping us to provide the homes and community facilities that an area needs, while still paying homage to what was once there before. Breathing new life into heritage assets can be a time-consuming and complex process but adapting old, forgotten, energy-inefficient buildings into new homes is a far better proposition than losing heritage assets all together.” “Political football” Lynda Clark, chief executive of First Time Buyer Group, said: “Housing is a political football this general election, and it is vital that whichever party voted into power takes the housing crisis seriously. First-time buyers prop up the housing market, yet the current landscape means it is increasingly challenging for young people to get on to the ladder without support from both the property industry and government. The average age of a first-time buyer in the UK is 34, leaving a generation of would-be buyers stuck in a seemingly inescapable, expensive rental trap or living in their childhood bedroom for the foreseeable. “Labour’s announcement demonstrates a long-term strategy to boost first-time buyer homeownership, providing a route on to the ladder with a more achievable 5% deposit. We know from the success of Help to Buy and other products such as shared ownership that, too often, the biggest barrier to homeownership is saving for a larger deposit. Committing to a permanent mortgage guarantee scheme will not only support tens of thousands more first time buyers on to the ladder, but will stimulate the market and instil both lenders and developers with confidence to broker deals and accelerate housebuilding.” Image © ADAM VAUGHAN/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock