Election 2019: The housing industry reacts

Leaders in the housing and property sector have urged Boris Johnson’s new government to take advantage of any post-election economic boost to get the UK building more homes.

With only St Ives in Cornwall still to declare, the Conservative Party has won a majority of at least 76 seats, after taking leave-voting seats from Labour, many in the party’s traditional heartlands.

Brian Berry, chief executive of small builder’s lobby group the FMB, said: “The new Conservative government has a golden opportunity to sort out Brexit and set out its new vision for the UK. Building the homes and infrastructure that this country needs has to be a key priority to help drive the economy forward.”

Berry also called on Johnson to deliver on the promised £3bn National Skills Fund and support “local builders to retrofit the millions of homes that need to be upgraded to low carbon”.

The Tories’ election manifesto included promises to prioritise home ownership, build one million new homes and support modern methods of construction. However, concerns have been raised about the apparent lack of focus on rented housing.

Jean-Marc Vandevivere, head of build-to-rent developer Platform, said: “There’s a risk of returning to the previous focus on ownership at all costs. Private renters are a fast-growing part of the market whose needs need catering to, and the best way to raise standards across the whole rental market is to encourage the creation of purpose-built, professionally-managed rented homes with on-site amenities that cater to modern lifestyles.

“The aim of the new government should be to increase supply across the board, not just market-sale housing.”

Mark Robinson, Scape Group chief executive, called for early clarity on the terms under which the UK will be leaving the EU, and for delivery on the pledged £100 billion of additional funding for infrastructure.

He said: “Today’s result should prompt a spike in business optimism, which can only be of benefit to the industry as the public and private sector cautiously look to push forward with projects.

“The next six weeks will be absolutely critical though, and the decisions our new government takes will be vital to maintaining confidence in the sector. The challenge now is making Brexit economically advantageous for UK plc.”

The property industry also welcomed the clear decision in the general election vote. Liam Bailey, global head of research at Knight Frank, said it would “release of some of the pent-up demand that has built in property markets in recent years.”

He added: “Supply is likely to rise as political uncertainty recedes and private and public spending stimulate the UK economy.”

Randeesh Sandhu, chief executive of residential property finance firm Urban Exposure, said the Conservative majority would deliver a boost to the housebuilding market from a resurgent UK economy. He added: “They [the Conservatives] are clearly the party that has been and looks set to continue to support home ownership with a series of initiatives in their manifesto focused on supporting first-time buyers, such as the proposed mortgage deposit scheme.”

David Montague, L&Q group chief executive, said the new Conservative government had been given “a very clear mandate to end the uncertainty of Brexit and re-focus on crucial domestic priorities like housing. Many communities have voted Conservative for the first time, and the government must take an inclusive approach to housing by delivering quality homes and thriving neighbourhoods for everyone.

“This means there has to be substantial support for social housing, as well as home ownership. L&Q stands ready to work in partnership with the government to deliver a new generation of high-quality homes the length and breadth of the UK.”

Mindful of the Conservative’s manifesto commitment to “support community housing by helping people who want to build their own homes find plots of land and access the Help to Buy scheme” Andrew Baddeley-Chappell, chief executive of the National Custom and Self Build Association, said he hoped to see an early focus delivering what the sector needed “so that we can make the maximum difference in the shortest possible time.

“In particular we will be pressing for action on Help to Buy for custom and self-build homes at the earliest opportunity, helped by the ‘oven ready’ version of the scheme that we have helped to develop, and identified actions needed to remove loopholes from the current Right to Build legislation and regulations,” he added.

With climate change, housing need and infrastructure all key themes in the election it was crucial these areas were tackled as priorities, said Julie Hirigoyen, chief executive of the UK Green Building Council. “To coin the now well-used phrase, let’s use the upcoming decade to get net zero carbon done,” she added.

Richard Beresford, chief executive of the National Federation of Builders, said his members would be breathing a sigh of relief that they can move on form the uncertainty of the past three years and were “particularly looking forward to seeing what plans the government has on late payment, fixing the broken planning process, home ownership, social housing and procurement reform”.

And David Barwell, chief executive, UK & Ireland, Aecom, said: “To see modern methods of construction mentioned in the Conservative manifesto was a big boost. We now wait with bated breath to see how the new government will follow through on their promise of providing support to the adoption of new methods of delivery. I would suggest tackling the issues with procurement would be a good place to start.”

The identity of the next housing and climate change ministers were of particular interest to Builders Merchants Federation (BMF) chief executive John Newcomb, who said his organisation wanted the new government to focus on narrowing the gap between housing demand and supply, the decarbonisation of heating and electrification of homes with sustainable means, and concerted action to simplify and speed up planning approvals for uncontroversial applications to boost the number of housing completions.

The BMF also called for “early clarification on what the future holds for the ‘Help To Buy’ scheme”, which is due to end in March 2023.

Johnny Caddick, director at Caddick Group, said the emphatic nature of the Tories’ win, as well as the political need to now fully support the North’s infrastructure ambitions, would bolster confidence in regional economies, enabling more capital to flow into housing. “The increase of skilled jobs and the emergence of new businesses that can re-skill workers will be a magnet for employers and housing development. And with institutional finance continuing a global hunt for yield, the market will be looking positively towards build to rent opportunities in 2020,” he added.

More to follow…