Property sector gives its views to the new PM, Liz Truss

After weeks of campaigning, Liz Truss is the country’s new Prime Minister – and the property industry has already reacted with views on what she should do to help.

While Ms Truss has made clear that she wants to cut taxes, she also said during her campaign that she wanted to simplify the planning process and build on brownfield sites.

She will be busy tackling her in tray over the coming days and weeks but leading figures in the property sector have said:

National Residential Landlords Association: Ben Beadle, the NRLA’s chief executive, said: “The last six years prove that it was a nonsense to think that cutting the supply of rental housing when demand is so strong would make it easier for those saving for a home of their own. Driving rents up just leaves tenants with less cash to save for a deposit. We need a strong and vibrant private rental market that meets the needs of those who rely on the flexibility it provides, those who need somewhere to live before becoming homeowners and those for whom the promise of social housing tomorrow provides cold comfort today. The next administration needs to reset its plans for the sector.”

British Property Federation: Melanie Leech, the chief executive, said: “We urgently need strong Government leadership after a period of drift. The new Prime Minister must address the immediate cost pressures facing businesses and families, but in parallel, there must a clear focus on the longer-term objectives to tackle inequalities across the UK and transition to a greener, high-productivity economy. We look forward to working with Ms Truss to harness the power and potential of the property sector to deliver the homes, work and leisure spaces that will revitalise our town and city centres and underpin our future prosperity as a nation.”

Walter Cooper: Simon Cox, the managing director of the real estate firm, said: “When it comes to housing, resolving the issues in planning needs to be one of the top items on the next PM’s agenda, and that will mean making some unpopular decisions. Truss now needs to shift her focus from pandering to the NIMBY masses. The fact of the matter is, as prices continue to rise due to a lack of supply, something needs to be done to increase the number of houses built in this country before home ownership becomes further out of reach for all but a select few.”

Propertymark: Nathan Emerson, the chief executive, said: “We congratulate Liz Truss on her successful election campaign and urge her to work with property professionals to find solutions to these major issues facing the sector. The spiralling cost of household gas and electricity bills has put the energy efficiency of our existing housing stock into sharp focus. With unilateral EPC rating targets looming, there is currently no long-term plan that sets out how they will be achieved. Propertymark is a strong advocate of making homes more energy efficient as the best solution to bringing down bills. However, it is unlikely that significant progress can be made until Ministers better understand the current housing stock and then apply realistic targets based on properties’ individual characteristics with sustained funding for homeowners. Our latest market insight reports show for every rental property available there are an average of 11 applicants, while home buyers are outnumbering sellers by seven to one. This is creating affordability issues, particularly in the private rented sector. We believe that gap can be closed through measures that bring the many tens of thousands of long-term empty properties back and the introduction of focussed targets for new homes that are based on an identified need for each tenure across the country.”