The latest measures to tackle the housing crisis illustrate the pressure on the Government to make progress on this vital issue. The political difficulty is that any changes will take time to have an impact – and so the political debate consists of the Government saying its plan will work and the Opposition saying it will not be near enough.
There is a good argument to reduce the cost of building houses via a temporary halt to development contributions, which is a central part of the plan. There are dangers, here, too – in some cases it will lead to lower costs to homebuyers, but in other cases it may not. Part of the rationale is to increase building volumes in areas where developers say it is currently uneconomic to build.
The Government is also targeting additional spending at the building of cost rental apartments and increasing grants for the redevelopment of vacant and derelict properties. The realisation has dawned that increased building volumes are still not near enough and are threatened by higher costs and the rising interest rates. More detail is needed on this aspect of the plans.
One of the key difficulties for the Government is the multi-faceted nature of the problem. Building levels are being hit not only by the inflation spike but also by long planning delays. A Bill to reform the planning system – to try to reduce delays – is on the way, but has faced some questioning from the industry. Meanwhile, a shortage of building workers is another significant blockage.
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For the Government, delivery will be everything. Significant State resources are already being spent – some ¤4 billion this year – and more may be allocated. But the key constraints are not financial – they are the speed at which projects can be planned and delivered. And the long-term nature of building and construction, which goes well beyond a single election cycle.
The Government is showing that it recognises the severity of the crisis – and the latest measures have some merit. However, more detail is needed in some areas. And the real test will come in the dogged work needed to make progress.