Authorities 'vital' for housing market

摘要

Local authorities are vital to government plans to increase housing supply, but are hampered by rent cuts and the right to buy, former chairman of the Audit Commission, Sir Michael Lyons, has said. In an updated version of his October 2014 review on housing, Sir Michael said the Government's focus on building homes for sale was like 'leading an orchestra made up only of the strings section'. He said: 'You cannot lead a housing crusade unless you are willing to draw in the contribution of all your allies: the volume builders really committed to growth; the small builders who have stopped building homes; the investors who want to build high quality homes to rent; the local authorities struggling to meet housing need and with the political will to do more; and the housing associations now spending their time worrying about lost rent income rather than planning to build more.'