Housing experts such as IMLA’s Peter Williams, Paul Smee of the CML and Cambell Robb from Shelter attended the launch to discuss the plan to tackle the supply side problem of how to build more homes in the UK.
Top of L&G’s agenda was to get Britain building a minimum of 250,000 homes a year underpinned by a review of planning rules such as the use of green belt and compulsory purchase orders.
Of the new homes being built L&G wants to see an increase in smaller homes with one or two bedrooms to serve shrinking households due to the rise in divorce and professionals marrying later in life.
And the strategy suggested longer-term mortgages and rent-to-buy schemes as alternatives to the Help to Buy mortgage indemnity guarantee scheme in making more homes more affordable.
L&G’s called for improvements to be made in the private rental sector to attract institutional investment to allow more homes to be built and it wants to see a greater level of professionalism in this market.
“The private rental market requires consolidation and scale: this is an obvious area for institutional involvement.”
To improve standards L&G suggested a national register of landlords should be set up.
It wants a reform of the tax system which would allow losses from private renting to be offset against all income, including earnings.
