At the state opening of Parliament, Labour unveiled over 35 bills and draft bills, ranging from bringing rail services into public ownership to launching a national wealth fund to strengthen UK investment.  

But at the centre of this the freeing up of planning rules to build new homes and major infrastructure projects are key to the government’s plans to boost business spending and foreign investment.  

Prime Minister Keir Starmer says Labour aims to “take the brakes off Britain”.  

The administration adds it will aim to see “how, not if, homes and infrastructure are built – the major brakes on the planning system will be addressed to support sustainable growth”.  

New homes

The government plans to build 1.5 million new homes over the next five years and restore local council mandatory housing targets.  

It aims to reform compulsory purchase compensation rules “to improve land assembly, speed up site delivery, and deliver housing, infrastructure, amenity, and transport benefits”.  

It will reclassify “poor quality” areas of the green belt as ‘grey belt’ land, allowing it to be developed.  

And appoint 300 new planning officers, costing £20m over five years.  

The speech also promised a Renters’ Rights Bill to give “greater rights and protections to people renting their homes, including ending no-fault evictions and reforming grounds for possession”.  

It also pledged a draft Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill, to tackle unregulated and unaffordable ground rent charges, and ending unfair maintenance costs in private housing estates.   

Grey belt

Together chief commercial officer Ryan Etchells welcomes moves to free up planning restrictions.  

But Etchells adds: “The success of this policy rests on utilising the UK’s ‘grey belt’ although, as of yet, we don’t have a definition of what, where or how much of this exists.   

“Our own research has shown that at least 19% of the UK’s property professionals want more support with brownfield development, and so Labour’s focus on these sites, and those like them, should see more spades in the ground – further boosting supply and activity across the property industry.”    

No-fault evictions

Generation Rent chief executive Ben Twomey welcomes plans to end no-fault evictions, but adds that renters are wary of this pledge, as it was first promised in a 2019 Conservative Party election manifesto.  

Twomey says: “After five years of promises from the previous government, with no improvements at the end of it, renters are understandably demoralised and wary of new commitments.   

“The government faces a big test to reassure voters that it can quickly turn promises into action and change things for the better.  

“These reforms must therefore go further than the previous government planned, with real support for tenants whose landlord wants to sell or move back in to prevent homelessness. Empowering tenants to challenge rent increases won’t work if we still end up with rents rising faster than our incomes.” 

Leasehold reform

On leasehold reform, the government will produce a draft bill, for consultation before being formally introduced as legislation.  

Residential Freehold Association director Mick Platt says: “We await further details of the government’s plans but welcome their recognition that there is more to be done to address the real concerns of leaseholders, such as rising service charges and the regulation of managing agents.  

“While we support proposals to enact the Law Commission’s recommendations, the government must ensure that any legislation does not retrospectively interfere with the legitimate investments of institutional investors, including professional freeholders and pension funds.”  

Left out of the speech

But other property professionals were disappointed in what did not make the speech — and conclude that these are at best low priorities for the new government.  

LiveMore managing director of capital markets Simon Webb says: “It is disheartening that the extension of the stamp duty exemption for all buyers has been neglected once again.   

“This omission continues to place unnecessary financial burdens on those looking to move.  

“The government needs to take decisive action and revamp the current process to ease the pressure on older homeowners who are keen to downsize but find themselves stuck due to prohibitive costs.   

“An urgent overhaul could significantly benefit these individuals and help release larger homes back into the market, thus providing a more balanced and efficient housing solution for everyone.”  

Open Property Data Association chair Maria Harris adds that the homebuying itself needs reform.  

Harris points out: “Solving the housing crisis is not just a housing numbers game. Our chronically poor and sclerotic homebuying process contributes significantly to the crisis by blocking home moves and engendering low consumer confidence.   

“The government must take ownership of an urgent overhaul of the process, ensuring property data is digitised at source and that transactions are underpinned by a digital ecosystem.”