Discussion Forums » Topic of the Month
Topic for June 2023 - Tackling Housing Crisis root causes
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The Agenda for this topic is below:
Objective
To focus on addressing the root causes of the housing crisis rather than the many operational difficulties.
Agenda
What exactly is the housing crisis? What do we think of our housing and associated infrastructure situation? Both property for purchase and property to rent?
What are the root causes of the housing crisis – both historically and more recently Is this the biggest on-going foreseeable failure of successive Governments to plan for the long-term?
What is the impact of the housing crisis on the wider economy and vice-versa?
What is the impact of population growth, immigration and longevity on the housing crisis?
Is the UK full? Can we manage the competing demands on land and natural resources, for housing, infrastructure, agriculture, environment, bio-diversity, increased self-sufficiency?
What different categories of housing do we need e.g. student accommodation, new immigrant accommodation, single-person accommodation, first-time buyers, social housing, worker accommodation, retirement accommodation, houses v flats, renting v owning etc?
What are the current plans of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities? Why was the annual building target dropped, is this good or bad? Can anyone sort out the planning system? What are the divisions of responsibility between local authorities and Central Government.
The Labour Party is planning to make housing an election priority, have they got any solutions?
What are the long-term solutions in our view? Is there anything useful that can be done in the short-term? Can we completely re-think housing in some way?
How can we match availability of homes to population growth and get house price inflation under control?
How can we get affordability under control i.e. gradually bring down rental and purchase costs as a proportion of income?
Should we bring back MIRAS?
Data to support discussion
Some useful sources from Keith and Geoff:
Information on housing over 175 years: https://www.schroders.com/en-gb/uk/individual/insights/what-174-years-of-data-tell-us-about-house-price-affordability-in-the-uk/
Research Briefing Tackling the under-supply of housing in England - House of Commons Library (parliament.uk)
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