The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced that a campaign for wide-ranging rent control is to be key to his 2020 re-election bid. He asked the government to give the London mayoralty the power to combat soaring rents in the capital. To this news, Alexandra Morris, Managing Director of
The Managing Director of SiteSales Property Group, Murray Smith has spoken about the plans that have been put forward by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan for the Capital. The draft London Plan that has been put forward by the Mayor include ambitious increases in delivery numbers for housing, as well
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has stepped in over a planning application for the first time since coming into office, intervening on two rejected high-rise residential developments in the capital Sadiq Khan has taken over the schemes designed by Allies and Morrison and Moss Architecture after the councils involved
Londoners have a huge problem, in return so does the next mayor of London, Sadiq Khan. Since being voted in last week, Londoner’s votes on Thursday will give Sadiq Khan the undeniable and daunting task of meeting the insatiable and growing demand for housing. The scandal of this entire situation
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced that a campaign for wide-ranging rent control is to be key to his 2020 re-election bid. He asked the government to give the London mayoralty the power to combat soaring rents in the capital. To this news, Alexandra Morris, Managing Director of online letting agent, MakeUrMove, said the following: “The main problem for tenants is a lack of supply in the housing market, meaning it does not meet demand, particularly when it comes to social housing. Rent controls do not deal with this problem, they merely seek to address a symptom of the problem. “Most good landlords don’t regularly increase rents, because they want to provide a service their tenants can afford. This means most landlords experience a real terms reduction in their rental income year on year. “Rent controls would represent another burden for landlords who are already facing interest rate rises, tax relief changes and increasing regulation. This could become a further barrier to landlords covering their costs or making a small profit. “As smaller landlords often have one eye on getting out of the market, rent controls could prove to be the final straw. This would further reduce capacity in the private rental sector. “In addition, there will also be some landlords who wouldn’t have increased rents but who now feel they have permission to put rents up in line with the rent control measures. “All of these factors will lead to more rapidly increasing average rents because the fundamental issue – that we aren’t building anywhere near enough homes in the UK – has yet to be adequately addressed.”
The Managing Director of SiteSales Property Group, Murray Smith has spoken about the plans that have been put forward by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan for the Capital. The draft London Plan that has been put forward by the Mayor include ambitious increases in delivery numbers for housing, as well as more clarity for a number of the affordable housing schemes. The main focus of the London Plan is on infrastructure -ready zones, with particular attention paid to areas of the suburbs. One of the more important areas of the plan is the reform of the planning process. The changes that are being made will be policies apparently ripped up in favor of more of an emphasis on fire safety. However, the extra costs for fire safety will be put onto the viability assessments of properties that could have a negative impact on the supply of affordable housing. Murray Smith has said that there is a clear emphasis on the delivery of additional housing, that will follow on from last week’s budget, which promising to put aside eye-watering sums for production. The Managing Director is however concerned that the government feels that increasing delivery will be the magical solution for the so-called ‘broken market’. While commenting on this topic, Murray also opposed this phrase, as markets don’t break, rather present unappealing offerings, with a market that is reluctant to fall, which then leads to affordability concerns. The SiteSales Property Group said that, in London per capita, there are enough homes, with the right requirements to suit everyone. However, these properties are simply too expensive to be in reach of first time buyers. Perhaps the solution is building houses that are affordable for first time buyers, although not everyone can afford to live in the most popular and exclusive areas, and compromises should be made in terms of location when looking for a house.
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has stepped in over a planning application for the first time since coming into office, intervening on two rejected high-rise residential developments in the capital Sadiq Khan has taken over the schemes designed by Allies and Morrison and Moss Architecture after the councils involved threw out the proposals. The mayor hopes that City Hall experts will help devise more suitable proposals. Khan wants to look at a 505-home project backed by Muse Developments and the Canal and River Trust and drawn up by Allies and Morrison at Hale Wharf in Tottenham, which was turned down by Haringey Council over concerns the 21-storey scheme would be too tall and adversely impact green belt land. He has also called in a 186-home 17-storey development, designed by Moss Architecture for Origin Housing, in Palmerston Road, Wealdstone, which was rejected by Harrow Council over similar height issues. Both schemes were earmarked for sites are within designated Opportunity Areas and Housing Zones – areas considered appropriate for development. Khan said: ‘These developments have the potential to bring real benefits as part of the wider regeneration of Tottenham Hale and Wealdstone, including hundreds of genuinely affordable new homes. However, each proposal needs work if they are to realise that potential. ‘I have asked my planning team to work with both local authorities to bring forward revised proposals that could produce better schemes that will protect the green belt from development and will deliver much-needed affordable housing.’ Interested in this article? Read more at The Architects’ Journal.
Londoners have a huge problem, in return so does the next mayor of London, Sadiq Khan. Since being voted in last week, Londoner’s votes on Thursday will give Sadiq Khan the undeniable and daunting task of meeting the insatiable and growing demand for housing. The scandal of this entire situation – many homes are actually unoccupied in London due to sky rocket prices. 57,000 properties in London currently stand empty, according to the charity Empty Homes. So many homes currently boarded up and are often in areas which attract anit-social behaviour. Londoners are feeling the frustrations over fears over safety over fear over prices. The solution will not be simple, these homes could obviously help halt the massive issue with supplies in homes. All that is needed is imaginative thinking about how to bring back the homes in the deprived areas back to use without jeopardising anyone’s safety. One of the issues causing the problem is the buy-to-leave investing concept, this model has become a growing and unwelcome practice in the property market. The model works on the idea that the property should be bought, left empty and left in the knowledge that the owners do not require it to meet the needs of the renting housing market, then later down the line sell the property back into the market at a profit. This is currently reducing the amount of available housing in London and it is also hitting the capital’s economy hard, and causing resentment with first time buyers. While ministers have sought to address this by restricting mortgage interest relief, the many buy-to-leave investors from overseas are unlikely to be affected by this measure. Sadiq Khan would have the power to change this recent trend in plans and purchasing. The new mayor could look at putting plans in place that reject planning permission and push councils and boroughs to place restrictions on newly built properties and put plans in place to halter the deliberate buy to leave schemes.
