If you were making a list of long-standing public policy failures in this country, housing would be right near the top. We haven’t built enough homes for at least 40 years.

That failure has had many consequences. In the run-up to the last election, Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves rightly identified that getting Britain building again is key to addressing our anaemic levels of growth (though they have thus far failed to do much about it). High housing costs disincentivise people from moving elsewhere for work, leading to a less flexible labour market. The lack of homes to rent is behind the rising bill local councils are paying for temporary accommodation, which is putting local government under such financial strain. 

The number of people sleeping rough on our streets is the most visible manifestation of the crisis. But it is only the tip of a much bigger iceberg – as I am acutely aware as the father of three sons, it is all but impossible for young people to get on the housing ladder in many parts of the country without help from the Bank of Mum & Dad (or the Bank of Grandma & Grandad). Together with the rip-off of plan 2 student loans, that is giving rise to a deep and justified sense of inter-generational unfairness.

Read the full article here: www.cityam.com/britain-needs-practical-ideas-to-fix-the-housing-crisis/