The government has finally issued its long-awaited white paper on the ‘levelling up’ agenda, courtesy of secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities Michael Gove.

This election slogan from 2019 expresses a desire to smooth out the discrepancies in wealth and opportunity, which currently cluster in the South-east, across the whole country. The government says it will “shift… focus and resources to Britain’s forgotten communities throughout the 2020s”.

At its core, the agenda is set to be a decade-long process that incorporates 12 ‘missions’ — broad, quantifiable goals that include creating improved pay, better public transport, higher levels of schooling and skills training, and a narrowing of the life expectancy gap between geographical areas.

My biggest fears are that the policy is too fragmented and the task at hand is far bigger than Gove is admitting to

Housing is, of course, on the agenda. Goal 10 promises that, by 2030, “renters will have a secure path to owner-ship with the number of first-time buyers [FTBs] increasing in all areas; and the government’s ambition is for the number of non-decent rented homes to have fallen by 50%, with the biggest improvements in the lowest-performing areas”.

Housing commentator and former mortgage professional James Chidgey says the paper also states: “Home England will lead on regeneration of sites in towns and cities, and funding from the housing supply will be substantially re-directed to the brownfield sites in the North and Midlands from the South-east.

“Homes England will also manage a new £1.5bn levelling-up homebuilding fund. The paper commits to building more genuinely affordable social housing, though the detail will come in a new Social Housing Regulation Bill later this year.”

Additionally, the government’s plans include abolishing Section 21 evictions and consulting on creating a landlord register.

I’d like to ask Michael Gove: what plans are in place to improve the experience of evicting tenants under Section 8 once Section 21 has gone?

Chidgey says he gives the 12 missions a “warm welcome”, adding they are “long overdue”.

Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association executive director Kate Davies shares this sentiment, saying: “It’s positive to see some longer-term thinking. [But] the industry will need to see specifics before the effect of these announcements can be judged.”

Lack of detail is a common criticism. Your Mortgage Decisions director Dominik Lipnicki says: “Gove needs to ensure that levelling up is more than just a gimmick as many in the North have lent their votes to the Conservative Party on the basis that their regions will get the much-needed investment.

“Governments of all colours have always been good at announcing policies that ended up making good headlines but little in terms of real improvement. This really needs to be different.”

While the 12 missions may not be hierarchical, reference to housing is low down

Lipnicki adds: “My biggest fears are that the policy is too fragmented and that the task at hand is far bigger than Gove is admitting to. We have already seen strains between Gove and [chancellor] Rishi Sunak and the money provided might ultimately just scratch the surface.”

Chidgey points out another potential worry: “While the 12 missions may not be hierarchical, reference to housing is low down.

He also observes how mission 10 “rather casually” refers to renters and FTBs.

Meanwhile, on the buy-to-let front, Mortgages for Business sales director Jeni Browne says that, as somebody who works mainly with landlords, she deems the ‘decent home standard’ goal, the abolishment of Section 21 and the landlord register most relevant.

The industry will need to see specifics before the effect of these announcements can be judged

“This paper is clearly designed to protect tenants and we all want renters to live in good homes and be allowed to stay in them as long as they meet the terms of their lease.”

Browne adds, however, that the abolishment of Section 21 is “bad news”, explaining: “Many landlords rely on [this] above going down the eviction route using Section 8 if the tenant has not paid their rent or is acting in a way that falls into the category of ‘anti-social’, or even illegal. The process of evicting under Section 8 is very lengthy, so landlords prefer to simply serve a Section 21.

“Additionally, landlords, if needing to sell their property or even move in themselves, have no cast-iron guarantee they will be able to get the tenants to vacate.

“The fallout of this is that more landlords will exit the private rental sector [PRS].”

When asked what she would like to ask Gove if given the chance, Browne replies: “What plans are in place to improve the experience of evicting tenants under Section 8 once Section 21 has gone?”

The money provided might ultimately just scratch the surface

And: “Landlords are already feeling incredibly disenfranchised. There have been tax changes, mortgage lending changes, energy performance certificate changes, several types of licensing being introduced and now this. The country relies on the PRS — what would you say to a landlord who felt this was the last straw and decided to sell?”

For his part, Chidgey would ask: “What and how will you ensure opportunities are there for people to rent good-value accommodation, social or private, and for them to purchase affordable property, be it freehold, leasehold or shared ownership, outside new-build?”