Housing: creative solutions

  While economists clutch their spreadsheets and politicians claim "steady growth," the real economy is screaming warnings that almost nobody wants to hear. The signals are there, hiding in plain sight: in the cardboard boxes piling up at recycling centres, in the lipstick tubes sliding across checkout counters. And they're both pointing toward the same grim destination—a housing market collapse that will make 2008 look like a dress rehearsal. UK house prices fell 0.3% in September, erasing August's gains and bringing the average home to £298,184. The Halifax tries to spin this as "broadly stable," but stability is precisely what we don't have. What we have is a market teetering on the edge, propped up by nothing more substantial than collective delusion and the desperate hope that somehow, this time, the fundamentals don't matter. Here's what does matter: the economy that underpins housing demand is crumbling, and the establishment indicators y...

Economic turmoil will have knock-on impacts for affordable housing supply chains in the UK, but it also presents an opportunity for social landlords to demonstrate resilience, argues Peter Brown Trump's tariff barrage, with a 10% baseline tariff on its goods exports to the US includes a 25% tariff on steel and aluminium imports , materials fundamental to the construction industry. Manufacturing and construction supply chains are directly in the firing line and perhaps more importantly, unforeseen turbulence creates uncertain future costs, risks of contract failure and possibly more company insolvencies. This is no longer a distant concern. How should the sector respond? Decisive action is needed. The potential impact of these tariffs, particularly on steel and aluminium, will ripple through our supply chains, inflating construction costs and jeopardising project viability. Housing organisations, from the largest G15 to the smallest community-led associations, must adopt a war-room...

  Another year, another grotesque symptom of Britain's broken housing market. While families languish on ever-lengthening social housing waiting lists, consigned to the precariousness of private renting, a different story unfolds for a select few. 2024 saw a record surge in the creation of limited companies designed solely to hoover up buy-to-let properties. Sixty thousand of these entities sprouted up last year, a 23% jump from the previous "record" in 2023. Let's be clear: this isn't about providing homes ; it's about financial engineering, about exploiting a system rigged in favour of the propertied class. This isn't some sudden blip, but a deliberate, decade-long trend, turbo-charged since 2018 when the tax rules were conveniently "rewritten" for landlords. Now, nearly 400,000 buy-to-let companies stalk the land, gobbling up homes and turning them into investment vehicles. We're told 70-75% of new buy-to-let purchases are now funnelled...

  Rachel Reeves’ Spring Statement on 26th March is poised to be a defining moment. We stand at a crossroads, with stark choices before us. The Chancellor must resist the siren song of austerity and instead embrace a bold vision of investment, especially in housing, and safeguard the vital safety net of welfare. The idea that we can achieve economic growth by slashing benefits and public spending is not just misguided, it’s downright dangerous. It’s a cruel delusion to think that we can starve the very people who need support the most and somehow expect the economy to flourish. Cutting wages and benefits for the poor, the old, the sick, and the disabled is not just morally reprehensible, it’s economically illiterate. It will only deepen inequality and stifle any hope of real progress. Instead of these shortsighted cuts, Reeves must prioritise investment in social housing. A decent home is not a luxury; it’s a fundamental human right. Building more social housing will not only provid...

  As homelessness in the United Kingdom continues its relentless rise, reaching over 350,000 , the pressing question remains: why are housing associations (HAs), the wealthiest players in the housing sector, doing so little to stem this tide? With millions of pounds flowing into their coffers annually, housing associations have the financial muscle to make a significant impact. Yet, their contributions to addressing homelessness seem conspicuously limited. HAs have long been a cornerstone of social and affordable housing, managing extensive property portfolios and collecting substantial rental incomes from their tenants. These funds are intended for the maintenance and expansion of housing stock, ensuring that affordable housing remains available to those who need it most. However, a closer examination reveals that the priorities of these associations have shifted over time. The increasing pressure to operate with a business-like efficiency has led housing associations to focus o...

Picture a young couple, Jess and Sam. They have spent years diligently saving for a deposit, only to watch house prices skyrocket, far outpacing their wages. Enter shared ownership: the government's much-touted “affordable” solution. Buy a 25% stake in a flat, pay rent on the rest, and supposedly climb the property ladder step by step. It sounds reasonable—until the trap snaps shut. Shared ownership is marketed as a lifeline for a generation locked out of home ownership. However, peel back the glossy brochures, and you'll uncover a scheme riddled with exploitation , designed not to empower tenants but to enrich developers. This isn’t housing policy—it’s wealth extraction, disguised as social benevolence. The Illusion of Affordability Proponents claim shared ownership bridges the gap between renting and owning. The reality? A financial quagmire. Buyers face a triple burden: exorbitant service charges, unpredictable rent hikes (often tied to inflation), and the Sisyphean task ...

  The proposal by the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) and the National Housing Federation (NHF) to impose annual rent increases of CPI +1% for the next decade is not merely a policy suggestion. It is a microcosm of the structural assault embedded in the system, where institutions nominally tasked with supporting those who protect the vulnerable instead align with the interests of capital to further immiserate the poor. This is not an anomaly; it is the logical endpoint of a system designed to privatise gains and socialise costs, while masking exploitation in the language of necessity and progress. Who are the CIH and NHF? Though cloaked as advocates for housing justice, they operate within a framework that accepts as sacrosanct the priorities of state and corporate power. Their demand for above-inflation rent hikes—ostensibly to fund social housing construction—reveals a deeper allegiance to the logic of private profit. The claim that tenants must bear the burden of austerity ...

  It’s time for an informed debate on rent controls.  The laissez-faire, competitive market approach in the privately rented sector has demonstrably failed - as average private rents in Britain have climbed to record highs, renters are suffering and excessively high rents create a drain on the economy. Property website Rightmove has said that in May this year, the typical advertised rent outside London reached a record £1,316 a calendar month. In London it was £2,652 a month – almost three times the £894 asked for in north-east England. Rightmove said the average advertised rent outside London in May was an inflation-busting 7% higher than a year earlier. This leads those in the property industry with a vested interest to argue for an increase in supply. But it’s economically illiterate to believe that simply adding more privately rented housing will bring rents down. We need to look seriously at rent controls. Rent control policies vary widely across European countries, with ...