Housing experts respond to the Levelling Up White Paper

The government’s Levelling Up White Paper sets out plans on improve the private rented sector, as well as boost SME housebuilders and regenerate areas, but the plans have been met with mixed reviews from the housing sector.

The latest government announcement reveals that all homes in the Private Rented Sector will have to meet a minimum standard, called the ‘Decent Homes Standard’, and Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions will be abolished alongside the launch of a consultation on introducing a landlords register.

A £1.5bn Levelling Up Home Building Fund is also being launched, which will provide loans to SME housebuilders.

Osama Bhutta, Director of Campaigns at housing charity Shelter, welcomed the announcements, calling them a ‘crucial’ step towards tackling the housing crisis.

‘Today’s commitment from government is a crucial step forward and offers hope to the millions of people being held back by the housing emergency. You cannot level up the country without safe and secure homes. The devil will be in the detail, so the government now needs to set out how it will deliver on its promises.

‘Renters have had a rotten deal for years. Far too many have been forced to live in shoddy conditions, afraid to complain for fear of eviction. Major reforms of the private rental sector are long overdue – these commitments to drive up standards and make renting fairer could transform renters’ lives. The government must now get on and deliver its Renters’ Reform Bill.

‘But you cannot level up the country or tackle homelessness without more homes people can actually afford. The government says it wants to increase the number of genuinely affordable social homes, now it must set out a plan for significant investment in social housebuilding to tackle the housing emergency head on and truly level up once and for all.’

However, leaders from the property market have expressed reservations about the plans for the private rented market.

Director of London estate agent Benham and Reeves, Marc von Grundherr, warned that the plans will not help ‘endear’ the government to the nation’s landlords: ‘While they’ve certainly been framed with the best intentions, the latest government announcement on levelling up the rental market will hardly help endear them to the nation’s landlords, who have already been subject to numerous financial penalties via legislative changes in recent years.

‘Any landlord worth their salt will already be delivering a suitable property to market and the additional hoop of a ‘Decent Homes Standard’ will add further time and cost constraints that simply aren’t needed.

‘We also saw how rogue tenants utilised government changes to tenant evictions during the pandemic and so we can expect more of the same now but on a permanent basis.’

Managing Director of Sirius Property Finance, Nicholas Christofi, also commented on the support for SMEs: ‘It’s great to see the government’s intent to support SMEs by making them the focus of their levelling up plans and the agile and adaptable nature of these smaller housebuilders should pay dividends when it comes to improving the prosperity of our nation.

‘That said, there’s no “new money” in today’s loan announcement of £1.5bn and so let’s hope that the government continues to provide support to SME housebuilders on an ongoing basis, not just via a few initial, headline grabbing gestures.’

In related news, the Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove will unveil the government’s Levelling Up White Paper today, setting out a decade-long project to regenerate Britain.

Photo by Katie Gerrard