Government will act on build out rates, Jenrick confirms

Robert Jenrick has confirmed that the government intends to bring in measures designed to force housebuilders to build out sites more quickly, despite admitting that there was no evidence of “land-banking”.

Speaking to the Home Builders’ Federation’s annual policy conference yesterday, the housing secretary said he was planning to act because there remained a “public perception” of landbanking, despite two government-commissioned investigations having found no evidence of it happening.

The announcement comes in the wake of the confirmation this month that the government will press ahead with controversial planning reforms in the face of significant backbench disquiet over the measures.

Earlier this month Jenrick (pictured, left) said the government was considering the introduction of measures to force housebuilders to build out more quickly, including the possibility of levies raised on unbuilt permissions.

Yesterday he went further, telling the conference that measures would be brought forward. He said: “We can’t deny that there is a major perception problem – people feel strongly about this. So, we want to take action to ensure builders build out at the pace promised.”

The confirmation that the government is to press ahead with this follows a call by the Local Government Association to grant councils powers to levy council tax on unbuilt homes, in order to incentivise build out.

A 2018 report by Tory MP Oliver Letwin into build out rates by housebuilders found that they were largely determined by the “absorption rate” of the local market for new homes, but that beyond this constraint there was no evidence of holding back sites to drive up prices.

A 2004 report by economist Kate Barker into the same issue also found there was no evidence of genuine land-banking.

Andrew Whitaker, director of planning at the HBF, said: “We need to understand exactly what the government is proposing, but any such proposals threaten to do the opposite of what they are intended to do and actually delay development and houses being built.

”Builders are awarded a permission to build, not a requirement to do so, and build rates are dependent on numerous determinants including the local market, infrastructure provision and indeed the planning process itself.” 

A government spokesperson said it expected house builders to deliver “more homes, more quickly and to a high standard”, and that it will be exploring further options to support faster build out as part of its proposed planning reforms.

The spokesperson said: “We are clear that new homes should be built out as soon as possible once planning permission is granted. Where sites are stalled or experiencing delays to delivery, it is for councils and developers to work closely together at a local level to overcome these barriers. “