Responding to Government’s Housing Strategy, Nick Jopling, Executive Property Director of Grainger plc, the UK's largest listed residential landlord, said:
We have a national housing crisis on our hands, with twice as many people wanting a place of their own than there are available. Today’s Housing Strategy should help ease the housing crisis we are in.
We must build more good quality homes for people of all income levels. We must build the in the right places, and they must be houses that people want to live in.
The Housing Strategy sets out clear measures to unlock housing supply.
Mortgage Indemnity Guarantee scheme - We welcome the Mortgage Indemnity Guarantee scheme which will greatly support housing supply and will significantly ease the housing crisis we face today. The scheme is could bring about 10-15% increase in housing supply in the first full year to as much as 25-30% over the following two years. This is a major breakthrough
Get Britain Building fund - Responding to Government's £400m Get Britain Building fund announcement in advance of Monday's Housing Strategy, Nick Jopling, Executive Property Director of Grainger plc, the UK's largest listed residential landlord, said:
Today’s surprise £400m announcement to boost housing supply is a welcome shot in the arm for the housing sector and the UK economy as a whole. While it isn’t the full answer to the UK’s housing crisis, alongside the other measures expected in the national housing strategy, it will go some way to easing the chronic shortage of housing facing this country.
Private rented sector - Government's Housing Strategy highlights to the importance that the private rented sector has to play. Privately renting is the fastest growing tenure in the UK, and it must be fit for purpose. Build-to-let projects must be supported by central and local government, as they will add to housing supply and address affordability concerns for the squeezed low to middle income earners.
The Government recognises the potential of Build-To-Let schemes, where homes are built for private renting. We are pleased that our Build-To-Let fund with Bouygues Development is recognised by the Government in their Housing Strategy as one of the initiatives to bring in institutional investment into the private rented sector.*
Public land for housing – It is great to see Government pushing on with their plans to release public land for housing. The MoD has been leading the way so far on schemes such as the Aldershot Urban Extension (up to 4500 houses), and we must have more government departments following their lead.
*Chapter 4, Paragraph 11, page 35 – Bouygues and Grainger Build-To-Rent fund.