Labour overlooking PRS by Gary Whittaker Labour is overlooking the importance of the private rented sector (PRS). This is according to the Residential Landlords Association (RLA), which has criticised the housing review released by the party last week. The organisation accused the report, which was carried out by Sir Michael Lyons, of failing to recognise the importance of the PRS and support its growth, while also focusing too heavily on London at the expense of the rest of the country. According to the RLA, the rental sector is the only form of housing tenure that is growing. In an analysis of figures from the Department for Communities and Local Government, the organisation revealed 57 per cent of the five million-plus homes created between 1986 and 2012 were private rental properties. It also said individual landlords are investing £50 billion into the housing market each year. RLA chairman Alan Ward stated: We welcome the reports objectives to beef up the role of housing in government, but the reality is that to secure the homes it needs, greater support has to be given to the provision of homes to rent. This report will choke off investment in the only housing tenure that has been growing and risks taking the country backwards. Mr Ward expressed disappointment that a representative of the PRS was not included among the reviews commissioners. He also claimed the report has fallen into the trap of being too London-centric and called for a one-nation housing policy rather than one built for the capital. Among the major recommendations of the Lyons review is for 200,000 homes to be built in the UK each year, with first-time buyers getting priority when it comes to purchasing new homes. The RLAs criticisms of Labour are the latest in a series of complaints from the organisation regarding the partys plans for housing. Just last month, the association claimed Ed Milibands proposals for the PRS would sound a death knell for the sector, hitting out at suggested legislation on rent controls and preventing so-called revenge evictions
Posted on: Fri, 24 Oct 2014 17:23:08 +0000
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