CALLS FOR GOVERNMENT TO INCREASE HOUSE BUILDING BY 50%

The Government must build 300,000 homes each year in England to help solve the housing crisis, an increase of 50pc from its current target, a committee of Lords has advised.

The cross-party House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee said that the Government had to “recognise the inability of the private sector, as currently incentivised, to build the number of homes needed.”

The report, Building More Homes, recommended that the Government relax the rules on how much local authorities are allowed to borrow to fund social housing, and take advantage of the current historically low cost of borrowing.

Andrew Youds says, “Housing stock has been an ever present political ‘hot potato’ for well over a decade now, so these calls come as no surprise. The proposals that Councils be allowed to borrow more money to fund social housing should be cautiously welcomed, particularly given the relatively low interest rates currently enjoyed and given the fact that the Bank of England could be set to cut interest rates further still, this could really prove to be the stimulation that social housing development needs.”

more…. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/07/14/england-needs-to-build-50pc-more-homes-than-governments-target-s/