Agents’ trade group Propertymark is demanding London Mayor candidates tackle what it calls “the unique housing challenges that the capital experiences.”
Londoners go to the polls tomorrow to elect a Mayor and 25 Assembly Members.
Propertymark’s plan includes expanding the Mayor’s Energy for Londoners programme to support landlords and homeowners to decarbonise their properties, releasing land held by public bodies for housing development, encouraging employers to support workers’ housing needs and tackling short-term lets thorough greater enforcement.
The group’s plan for London welcomes candidate pledges for an increase in affordable social housing. However, Propertymark recognises that demand for private rented sector accommodation is not keeping up with supply and more must be done by the Mayor to incentivise landlords – with rent controls must avoided.
To boost the supply of new homes there must be a greater focus on speeding up planning process and building on land under the Mayor’s control. This will ultimately allow more properties to be built and help make housing in London more affordable.
The Greater London Authority, Transport for London and the National Health Service should also release land for residential development and ensure that any development works alongside local needs - including provision for families and older people.
Propertymark has also called for the successful candidate to have greater devolutionary powers to tackle the challenges that the Capital faces.
Propertymark’s Policy and Campaigns Officer Tim Thomas says: “With a population of over nine million, the highest house sales and rental values in the country and challenges with the supply of all housing tenures, the next Mayor of London needs to use all powers at their disposal to tackle problems the Capital faces.
“London is facing a housing crisis and more must be done to boost supply across all tenures, work with councils to deliver more homes more quickly, utilise land under the Mayor’s control and provide more support to existing homeowners and landlords to make energy efficiency improvements to their property.”
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I had to read this three times before I found the AirBnB comment consisting of just six words. 🤔
Propertymark seem to be setting themselves up as the spokesman for the PRS. Has the PRS agreed?
Exactly, have they been elected to speak for us?
Apparently there is going to be a short lets portal soon (the summer?) which people offering short lets need to join, and short lets will be regulated that way. Everything is so uncertain because of the political instability at the moment.
Ellie - yes DCMS are selecting a supplier now to run a 3 month discovery/alpha phase for a register of short term lets properties. This phase complete by the autumn? But that's just a prototype, the final version will not be in place in this Government. What Labour does with it is anyone's guess.
So right, AS. Everything is up in the clouds because we don't know exactly what Labour will do - however, we can predict that they are not going to facilitate Landlords' businesses, particularly if they involve short term letting.
I am not even clear what the definition of a short let is. Is it less than 90 days or less than six months?
My feeling at the moment is if you do offer short lets, at least sometimes, then it would be a good idea to register when the opportunity arises.
Ellie - we don't know the specifics of what Labour will do, no, but we can be absolutely sure it won't be anything positive for landlords!
From the procurement notice for the STL register:
A mandatory national scheme is intended to:
i) collect better information on all available and relevant short-term rental properties in England
ii) drive awareness of existing health and safety regulations that may apply to a short term let and promote compliance with those regulations.
iii) provide local authorities with the information they need to identify STLs in their area and help them address community and housing impacts.
Now I wonder what local authorities would do with that information? More tax/licencing incoming! I would suggest a policy of registering for nothing would be best!
What I was thinking AS was that it would be possible/easy to move from short term letting to long term letting or to selling, but much more difficult, if not impossible, to move from long term letting to short term letting (if you hadn't registered at the outset).
I’m thinking of standing for mayor on an anti everything stance
Especially landlords who really are rotters
But I’m too busy lying in bed until granny brings me my cocoa and biccies
Yours generation rant
I wished someone proper would stand for Mayor we might as well vote for the cat.
London Mayoral election today waste of time, same guy in for 8 years probably returned again. He has been milking the Media good o, very biased telling one section of the Community that he will look after them to ensure he gets their votes and they are not indigenous either.
I haven’t a clue who the other Candidates are and do others I doubt if the Majority does, we’ll have no problem making an informed decision then will we, can beat a fair election. Please stand George.
Fully agree Michael. George for Mayor!
Do we really need Mayors. I do not know too much about it but I cannot see any benefit in having them . Devolved Government sounds great in txt books but in reality the people elected just follow their own political agenda.
I doubt that the average working person gets any benefit from them.
If they were independent, non-politically affiliated, lived locally i.e. fully invested in the local area, then I could see benefits. But when it is a political role, then I see no value whatsoever
Just another layer of expensive wasteful red tape with no real use in the real world 🌍
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