UK housing developers warn new rules and taxes will add annual £4.5bn to costs
UK housing developers have criticised “new taxes, levies, regulations and policies” that they say will increase costs and discourage development, hitting affordable housing in deprived regions hardest.
In a report published this week, the Home Builders Federation highlighted 12 changes to taxes and regulations in the three years from April this year, which it estimates will add £4.5bn to developer costs each year, or more than £20,000 per new home.
The biggest single cost cited by the HBF comes from the Future Homes Standard, set to come into force in 2025. This requires that new homes have low carbon heating and are highly energy efficient and could cost £1.9bn a year, according to the HBF.
Annual building peaked in 2019-20, when 219,120 homes were completed, according to official figures, but fell last year and looks likely to do so again. The government’s target to address the shortage is 300,000 new homes a year.
Over the past three months, the number of residential development projects starting on site fell by a third compared with the previous three months, according to data provider Glenigan.
This story originally appeared on: Financial Times - Author:George Hammond
