The equivalent of half the British public are in favour of banning buy-to-let (BTL) mortgages for new builds, according to recent data from YouGov.

In a study examining the policies, Britons would support to tackle the housing crisis in the UK, YouGov revealed the most popular policy was to increase the number of new builds allocated to affordable housing (69%) and to increase council tax liability for second homeowners (69%).

Half of respondents also said BTL mortgages for new build properties should be banned and 67% said properties empty for more than six months in a year should be charged an additional rate of tax.

Over the last five years there has been an increase in the number of empty homes across England, with 240,000 homes empty long-term in 2021.

The majority of respondents also said they would support the enhancement of council powers to acquire long-term empty properties for social housing at a discount rate.

As house and rental prices continue to rise, supply chain and labour shortages persist, and social housing dwindles, 81% of Britons feel housing is a major issue in the UK today.

In December, YouGov found the majority of the public thought past and existing government policy had negatively impacted housing.

Last summer, the government announced 120,000 new homes would be built as part of a £8.6bn affordable housing programme.

The Housing Department, now the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, said the programme would deliver 119,000 homes for young people and families.

However, the department also published data last year indicating the number of affordable homes in the UK had dropped 12% compared to the previous year.