Shelter comment on housing white paper

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Graeme Brown, Interim Chief Executive of Shelter, said:

"It’s good to see the government paying much needed attention to the country’s appalling housing crisis in its new white paper, and the shift in focus from homeowners to the millions of struggling renters is right.

“Talk of longer-term tenancies is welcome but risks being disingenuous unless these are rolled out across the board, not just for a handful of people living in new build-to-rent properties.

“Cheaper and more accessible land is one of the best ways to get us building the genuinely affordable homes people across the country so urgently need. We’re pleased Secretary of State Sajid Javid has announced a crackdown on what he calls ‘fat cat developers’ who acquire land but then fail to build on it for years. If acted on this would be a bold move that could help increase the supply of new homes.

“The scourge of inadequate tenancies, and indeed our broken housing system, are fuelled by the shocking lack of affordable homes available to rent or buy, so the government is right to want to ‘get Britain building’.

“The white paper poses the right questions, what we need now is quick and bold action that helps people in need of a decent home tomorrow not in ten years.”