The governments housing targets – out of touch with the data!

In July 2024 the government introduced new housing targets.  Overall the objective is for a total of 1.5 million over a four-year period or 375,000 per annum. The rationale was that there is a housing shortage and a greater supply would make housing cheaper.

 

The evidence suggests otherwise.  There is already a surplus of 1.5 million dwellings in England. Problems of affordability and poor quality housing will not be addressed by building more. There are policy options to deal with current problems including investment in updating existing properties, changing the mortgage market to assist first time buyers, changing the private rental market and providing support to renters. Its not a case of building more it’s a case of improving what we have and using the existing surplus.

 

How many new dwellings do we need in England?

The current net additional dwelling figure – 189,300, could be used for the higher target, with the projected household growth figure of 171,000 for the lower level.   At the same time the number of unoccupied properties should be reduced.  Local targets would be adjusted to take account of the number of unoccupied dwellings.

 

Conclusion

The government’s new housing targets represent a significant increase in numbers up from 300,000 to 375,000.  The Government has used flawed assumptions and accepted that supply or the lack of it is the root cause of housing problems.  As well as leading to unnecessary and unsustainable development the policy will not actually solve the problems it purports to deal with.

 

Evidence suggests that a lower target of between 171,000 and 203,000 would be more appropriate allied with a range of policy measures to address the various aspects of housing. These would seek to resolve the contributory factors, which together have created a housing crisis. At the same time policies to reduce the number of second homes and holiday lets could be introduced.