Genuine Housing Policy to Help the Young and Save Britain

General and Other Policy
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Hi All

Quick note before I get into it I do feel this policy platform has limitations as true reform would require fundamental change there’s no point putting together a comprehensive housing policy for example without also completing a comprehensive economic and immigration policy with synergy between all aspects, the nature of this platform being decentralised with policy proposals based on votes rather than actual utility potentially makes any suggestions redundant as users could down vote core reforms not appreciating the intended secondary impacts.

Introductions out the way, I have attached a housing reform policy from my Substack which attempts to resolve the complex housing issue in the UK, To read in full I have attached a link here Genuine Housing Reform to Help the Young and Save Britain

But as follows is an introduction with key aspects.

Introduction

The affordable housing crisis stands as one of the UK’s most enduring challenges, rivalled only by demographic shifts. Housing inflation has far outstripped wage growth, locking countless individuals—especially young families—out of the property market. For those aspiring to start a family, the game feels rigged: sky-high prices, coupled with escalating living costs, make saving for a deposit an insurmountable hurdle. Political parties across the spectrum exploit this issue for electoral gain, while being reluctant to truly grapple with the crisis because of the expected backlash. Policy failures materialize years later, conveniently blamed on the crisis of the day and while immigration’s role in housing pressures has come to forefront in recent times a critical obstacle remains unaddressed: homeowners who have reaped predictable property value increases from demand-driven inflation and so are incentivised against reversing housing demand pressures even if they poll different when focused on immigration in abstract, Since government policy shifted housing from a communal good to an asset class, resolving this crisis demands bold, systemic reform.

Objectives

This policy aims to:

  • Increase the supply of adequate and affordable housing to meet population needs, particularly for family formation, addressing the 7–8% reduction in house sizes since 2010 (e.g., from 68.0 m² to 62.7 m² in London).
  • Reverse the trend of housing as a speculative asset, restoring its role as a communal good.
  • Mitigate demand-driven inflation caused by planning restrictions, centralized economies, and immigration pressures, which some estimates suggest account for 20% of housing price increases.
  • Foster sustainable communities that support organic population growth through family-friendly housing, aiming to support a recovery in the White British Total Fertility Rate (e.g., from 1.19 in London).
  • Remove protections and profit drivers for the immigration industry.

Policy Measures

To address the crisis holistically, the following measures are proposed:

  1. Relaxation of Planning Permissions
  • Simplify and streamline planning processes to eliminate delays and bureaucratic barriers.
  • Fast-track approvals for developments prioritizing family-sized homes, with minimum size standards to reverse the 7–8% reduction in house sizes since 2010.
  • Empower local councils to greenlight projects aligned with regional housing shortages.
  1. Economic Incentives for New Build Areas
  • Offer tax breaks and grants to developers building in low-development areas within designated charter regions.
  • Provide capital gains relief for developers to protect profits while facilitating an oversupply of the market.
  • Grant a dividend on tax income at a set percentage (e.g., 5% for 10 years) if the development meets criteria for aesthetics, design, and quality of life, and is deemed successful through public adoption metrics.
  • Promote mixed-use communities integrating housing, shops, and parks to create thriving neighbourhoods.
  • Fund supporting infrastructure (e.g., schools, transport) to make new areas viable for families.
  • Establish enterprise zones in new build areas to enhance their sustainability while passively reducing pressures caused by centralized economies.
  1. Immigration and Remigration Strategies
  • Tighten immigration controls to ease demand pressure in overstretched housing markets, particularly in high-cost areas like London, where prices doubled from £350,000 to £709,000 between 2010 and 2024.
  • Launch voluntary remigration initiatives, offering support for immigrants to return to their countries of origin.
  • Develop a comprehensive immigration policy to tackle the immigration industrial complex—such as legal and business entities profiting from migration—beyond just migration numbers.
  1. Means-Tested Mortgage Forgiveness
  • Introduce a means-tested forgiveness program for homeowners whose debt exceeds property values due to market corrections.
  • Calculate relief based on profits driven by immigration-related demand, targeting those who benefited most from past inflation (e.g., the estimated 20% price increase attributed to immigration).
  • Protect recent buyers (e.g., post-2020) while ensuring fairness for long-term owners.
  1. Progressive Property Sale Taxation
  • Implement a tiered tax on sale proceeds, with higher rates for owners who purchased decades ago (e.g., in the 1970s) compared to recent buyers (e.g., in the 2020s).
  • Redirect revenue to subsidize the mortgage forgiveness program.
  • Balance equity by linking tax rates to ownership duration and inflation gains.

Implementation

Execution will involve coordinated action across government bodies:

  • Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Oversee planning reforms, incentivize new builds, and establish charter regions to support regional development.
  • Home Office: Enforce immigration controls and manage remigration programs.
  • Treasury: Design and administer mortgage forgiveness and taxation systems, supported by a task force to assess property value shifts.
  • Department for Business and Trade: Set up enterprise and commercial zones, allowing for low tax rates within designated areas to support community development.

Evaluation

Success will be gauged through:

  • Housing Metrics: Increased homes built, lower cost-to-wage ratios, and higher family homeownership rates.
  • cost per square meter price trend reversal
  • Community Outcomes: Economic growth and improved living standards in new build areas.
  • Demand Reduction: Reduced net immigration and effective remigration participation,
  • Financial Impact: Fewer homeowners in negative equity and greater affordability for new entrants.
  • Holistic Success: Number of successful tax dividend pay-outs following public adoption of aesthetically pleasing new build communities

Conclusion

Housing is the bedrock of family life and community stability, yet its transformation into an asset class has fuelled a crisis of affordability and adequacy. This proposal tackles both supply and demand—oversupplying housing, reforming systemic barriers, and easing financial burdens—while mitigating homeowner backlash through equitable measures. It also avoids the battery-farming tendencies typical of modern affordable housing by prioritizing aesthetics, fostering communities, and supporting local economies to create viable environments that people want to move to, rather than feeling forced. By breaking the cycle of speculation, we can deliver not just affordable homes, but adequate ones, paving the way for sustainable family growth and vibrant communities.