Why Don't We Build Enough New Homes in England?

摘要

Building homes is one of the oldest and simplest human endeavours. However, over the last few decades in England we have comprehensively failed to build enough new homes for our growing, changing and ageing population. The impacts of this failure have been clear for all to see: unaffordable rents, a 1.8 million social housing waiting list, dangerously high house prices, and a quarter of 18-35 year olds now living with their parents. With such pressing social problems, why have successive governments failed to get a grip? Here we give Shelter's explanation of why we have not built enough homes and set out the foundations of a new approach to building the homes we need. Developed in partnership with industry experts from KPMG, Shelter's analysis goes beyond the usual debates about the planning system to unpick the fundamental causes of the housing supply problem. In particular, the crucial role of the land market and the sclerotic and concentrated house building industry which has grown around it. Our alternative approach draws on the best examples from Northern Europe, where quality private and public development happens on a scale and at a speed that is rarely seen in the UK.