White Paper Preview - Home Made Comment

Property Week has released an article detailing comments from Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick that preview what the industry should anticipate from the government’s forthcoming planning white paper. His comments indicate that the government’s priorities will include reforming the planning application system, supporting SME housebuilders, and helping more first-time buyers onto the property ladder through market sale discounts funded by Section 106 contributions.

We at Home Made believe that the option of home ownership should be readily achievable for those who want it. However, we hope that the full publication also acknowledges the reality that it is increasingly common, particularly among younger generations, for people to rent by choice. Whether through the need for flexibility due to labour mobility, the desire to invest in experience rather than assets, or the inclination to maintain a higher standard of living in neighbourhoods where this is not possible through property ownership, there is an increasingly large demographic whose needs can only be served through a robust supply of high-specification rental property. A government-led home ownership agenda is politically understandable, but we believe the limited scope of such policy initiatives no longer serve the needs of the population as a whole.

We eagerly await the forthcoming publication of the completed white paper, and will comment in full once the industry has had time to digest its entire slate of proposals.