Andy Burnham became Prime Minister today, taking office after being confirmed as Labour leader without opposition last week following Keir Starmer’s resignation. The move puts housing policy under a leader with a distinctive track record on the issue, and the property industry has been quick to react.
As mayor of Greater Manchester, Burnham pursued an enforcement-heavy approach to the private rented sector, overseeing a 43% rise in landlord fines and lobbying for rent control powers in 2023.
He has also set out ambitions for a council housebuilding programme he has described as the biggest since the postwar period, reportedly targeting 500,000 new council and social homes over eight years, alongside interest in reforming property taxation, including potential changes to council tax, stamp duty and capital gains tax.
With cabinet appointments expected later today and his policy agenda still taking shape, landlords, agents, lenders and housebuilders are already offering their views on what a Burnham premiership could mean for the sector.
Nathan Emerson, CEO of Propertymark, comments, “Propertymark welcomes Andy Burnham to Downing Street, and we look forward to learning more about proposals aimed at addressing current housing concerns. There are many complex challenges that remain regarding the delivery of a sustainable mix of affordable housing across each region.
“Over the coming months, it will be essential that the sector has a clear opportunity to engage with the UK Government on key housing issues, helping to ensure that the manifesto commitment to deliver 1.5 million homes across England becomes a reality.
“Looking at the bigger picture, a diverse housing mix must be delivered with a regional focus and supported by robust local infrastructure. Building homes is the challenge; building well-designed, functional communities must be the goal.”
Brendan Geraghty, chief executive, ARL, said, “The Association for Rental Living (ARL) welcomes Andy Burnham as the Leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister of the UK.
“As the representative body for the institutionally backed, professionally managed rental living sector including Build to Rent, the ARL welcomes the Prime Minister’s belief that “everything starts with a good home”, an approach that recognises the critical importance of housing to the economic and social fabric of the nation, something that we have long called for.
“The Build to Rent sector has demonstrated over the last decade that institutional rental housing can deliver additional good homes, at scale and at pace, and is perfectly placed to offer hundreds of thousands more new homes, together with accountable standards, resident trust, public value and investable delivery capacity, in partnership with local authorities and the National Housing Bank.
“We support policies, together with the pledged stability of politics, that enable the delivery of new homes of all tenures and call upon the Prime Minister to pull the Build to Rent lever to realise the potential of institutional rental housing in addressing the housing crisis this nation faces, once and for all.”
Nick Leeming, Chairman of Jackson-Stops, comments: “Andy Burnham takes office having placed housing firmly at the top of his agenda. Building more homes is essential, but the health of the market also depends on helping existing homes circulate more freely, so that more people can make the move that is right for them.
“Our latest research suggests that removing stamp duty costs could bring more than 300,000 owner-occupied homes onto the market across England within less than a year. At the same time, 42% of those whose moving plans have been delayed cited economic uncertainty as a reason.
“The new Government therefore has an opportunity to restore confidence in the market by combining a clear commitment to housebuilding with stable economic management and a serious review of the upfront costs that continue to hold back buyers and sellers. If that can be achieved, we should see momentum return, more transactions progress and more people able to move when the time is right for them.”
Vanessa Hale, chief executive, Real Estate:UK, said, “The new PM has waited a long time for this role, and we wish him well. Bringing forward the new housing and modern workplaces this country needs also takes a long time – too long. Mr Burnham will know from his time in charge of Manchester that creating a positive climate for investment results in more development, economic growth and jobs. We can’t wait to work with his administration to spread Manchester’s success to the rest of the country.”
Laurence Morey, CEO at Pepper Money UK, says, “We welcome Andy Burnham as Prime Minister and his promise to put the cost of living front and centre, giving breathing space to households. With a package of support expected within weeks, that focus is the right one. Our Specialist Lending Study found that 31% of people with adverse credit cite the rising cost of living as the primary reason for their debt. These are people whose finances have been knocked off course by rising bills, not poor decisions, and any meaningful package needs to reach them.
“The same applies to his ambitions on housing. At Pepper Money, we see every day that a blip on a credit file shouldn’t shut someone out of homeownership or a fair deal on their finances. The FCA is already examining how mortgage rules can better support creditworthy borrowers with past credit difficulties, reflecting a growing recognition that people should not be defined forever by a temporary setback. If this government is serious about easing the pressure on households, making sure people with adverse credit aren’t left behind by mainstream finance has to be part of the picture.”
Paul Rickard, Chief Executive, Pocket Living, said, “In Andy Burnham we have a Prime Minister who has placed housing at the very heart of his domestic agenda, and it is vital that his new administration not only continues with the planning reform agenda of the previous one, but seriously gets to grips with the viability challenge currently strangling the housebuilding sector across the UK.
“As part of that, it is imperative that his new ministers also seek to integrate housing delivery with Andy Burnham’s wider industrial policies, including defence and life sciences, to provide a supporting housing offer that creates the foundations for these key sectors. In the remaining time before the next general election, we would urge the new Prime Minister to be beyond bold on tackling some of the barriers to delivery, as well as focus on how the UK can continue to attract investment into the delivery of new housing of all tenures, including local authority housing delivery in partnership with the private sector.”
