{
  "id": 16747639,
  "title": "Developers urge Labour to cut red tape and boost housebuilding",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/27/developers-urge-labour-to-cut-red-tape-and-boost-housebuilding",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-27T13:00:11.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "City AM",
    "slug": "city-am",
    "url": "https://www.cityam.com/developers-urge-labour-to-cut-red-tape-and-boost-housebuilding/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Property and investment leaders have urged the UK government to reduce red tape and stimulate housebuilding, stating that construction of new homes is falling far short of Labour's targets. The proposals, led by Related Argent and the Institute of Directors, come as builders including Taylor Wimpey and Berkeley warn that constructing in London is becoming less viable.\n\nTom Goodall, Related Argent's CEO, noted that building a home in Bristol costs more than in Paris, Los Angeles, or Sydney. The complexity and regulatory burden involved in getting homes built contribute to the high cost. The proposals, developed with experts from the Building Safety Regulator, the Ministry of Housing, Barclays, and the Greater London Authority, aim to eliminate the bureaucratic hurdles faced by developers.\n\nThe government should introduce time-limited stamp duty relief for new-build homes to expedite sales and make projects more viable for developers, according to the group's recommendations. Housebuilders welcomed a revived Help to Buy scheme, but experts stressed that additional measures are necessary to boost housing supply.\n\nThe developers also urged the government to exempt all new build-to-rent homes from rent controls for a quarter-century, providing institutional investors with better assurance when committing to projects. They suggested offering VAT on service charges for new-build homes, establishing a ring-fenced fund for local authorities to access planning expertise, and ensuring more certainty around the costs of regulation.\n\nRelated Argent's Goodall emphasized that while government is right to reform planning, permission alone is insufficient. Schemes must be financially feasible, sellable, and deliverable with confidence to progress from paper to construction. The developers' proposals come as London trails behind housing targets. Only five percent of the 88,000 homes required in the capital each year were started in the 2024-2025 financial year. The government aims to build 1.5 million homes by the end of this Parliament, though housing secretary Angela Rayner admitted this was a \"stretch target.\" John German, an investment manager, praised the proposals for enabling delivery rather than merely creating new subsidies. He emphasized that targeted changes to improve certainty, reduce friction, and strengthen viability can encourage private capital to contribute more to the housing crisis.",
  "summary": "The government has been urged to slash red tape and boost housebuilding in the UK as the rate of construction of new homes falls well behind Labour’s own targets. A group of property and investment leaders have handed a set of proposals to the government which they say will get stalled housing schemes moving and [...]",
  "key_points": [
    "UK developers urge Labour to reduce red tape and increase housebuilding.",
    "Proposals aim to eliminate bureaucratic hurdles and make projects more viable."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}