x
By using this website, you agree to our use of cookies to enhance your experience.

TODAY'S OTHER NEWS

Private renting "has grown by 17,000 households a month in England" claim

The government’s initiatives to try to increase house building and owner occupation will not stop demand for rented homes rising by over one million households by 2021 says high-end agency Savills. 

The company says the government target of building 400,000 new affordable homes for sale over the course of this parliament will mean the country would still require an additional 220,000 homes for rent a year. 

It says the growth of house price inflation ahead of wage growth has served to push home ownership further out of reach for many, at a time when stock in the social rented sector has shrunk by 2.8% in the past five years.

Advertisement

This has pushed more households into private renting, it says. 

According to the English Housing Survey, private renting has been growing by 17,500 households per month on average over the 10 years to 2014. 

Government housing policy, including Starter Homes, more Shared Ownership homes and access to larger equity loans through Help to Buy London, seeks to reverse this trend by helping people access the property ladder. 

“But demand for rented homes could still rise more sharply than we have forecast,” said Susan Emmett of Savills residential research. 

“We would question whether policies can accelerate housebuilding enough to see the government’s target of 400,000 affordable homes for sale reached in the timescale set. Given the overlap between different schemes, each focused at similar parts of the market, it is possible that one scheme could simply replace the other rather than providing additional homes,” she claimed.

“This analysis demonstrates that we still need to provide a substantial number of homes for rent. Government policy should focus on supporting the development of new homes to rent as well as to buy.”

Instead, Emmett claimed recent policy announcements are likely to constrain the supply of rental homes. 

The introduction of a 3% stamp duty surcharge on buy-to-let properties and the restriction on tax relief on mortgage interest payments are likely to limit the ability of private investors to expand their portfolios.

This presents a major opportunity for large scale institutional investors to step into the gap through Build To Rent, she claimed, with expectations that they will remain exempt from the tax changes. 

Want to comment on this story? If so...if any post is considered to victimise, harass, degrade or intimidate an individual or group of individuals on any basis, then the post may be deleted and the individual immediately banned from posting in future.

  • icon

    "This presents a major opportunity for large scale institutional investors to step into the gap through Build To Rent"

    Pretty much sums up GO's policy.

    PRS had been making a reasonable profit in recent years. So he's driving out the private investor and handing it to his corporates mates.

    Thanks, George. We'll remember that when it comes to choosing the next leader of the Conservative party.

  • icon

    After 23 years maybe i will chuck it in and go and claim some benefits

  • icon

    The governments plans are clearly unlawful and will only lead to much greater homelessness and financial pain for those who are forced to rent. If the planning regulations of the last 30 years had allowed a decent amount of houses to be built then we would not have this situation. It has been clear to any observer for at least 25 years that we would be in this situation and it will only be more difficult in the future. Rents can only go up!

  • icon

    I agree with you all. This will hurt tenants mostly and rents are already rising because of it. GO has not only hacked off a million or so landlords but their tenants will also see this for what it is - a tax raid and landlords are collecting it for the Treasury.

    The CONservative party has no coherent house-building plan. I can offer them one and I won't charge.

    http://saynotogeorge.co.uk/how-to-solve-the-housing-crisis/

icon

Please login to comment

MovePal MovePal MovePal
sign up