UK needs to build 300,000 homes

The UK Government must lift its home building target by 50 per cent and build 300,000 new homes each year to tackle the current housing crisis, according to a report from the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee. The report suggests that local authorities and housing associations must be freed to build substantial numbers of homes for rent and for sale and points out that the current targets will fail to meet the demand for new homes or moderate the rate of house price increases. It also says that current policy is restricting local authorities' access to funding to build more social housing and creating uncertainty in the already dysfunctional housing market by frequent changes to tax rules and subsidies for house purchases, reductions in social rents, and the extension of the Right to Buy. All of these changes reduce the supply of homes for those who need low cost rental accommodation and a narrow focus on home ownership neglects those who rent their home, the report adds.