General Election 2024: How does each party pledge to fix housing in their manifestos?
Housing is a huge problem in the UK, with renters, first time buyers and those with mortgages all facing challenges. So what do the Conservatives, Labour Party, Liberal Democrats, Green party and Reform say they’re going to do about it?
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In Brief...
- Conservatives: Plan to redevelop brownfield sites, increase stamp duty exemptions, and introduce a new Help to Buy scheme. They also aim to end no-fault evictions.
- Labour: Proposes building 1.5 million new homes with a focus on social and affordable housing, prioritizing first-time buyers. They advocate for a “brownfield first” approach.
- Liberal Democrats: Aim to build 380,000 homes annually, ban no-fault evictions, and end the Right to Buy scheme. They emphasize community-led developments and ending rough sleeping.
- Green Party: Advocates for zero-carbon homes, mandatory energy efficiency standards, and rent controls. They aim to build 100,000 social homes annually and prioritize environmental sustainability.
- Reform UK: Focuses on simplifying planning laws, boosting construction of affordable homes, and supporting the private sector to build more homes, with less emphasis on social housing.
The average first-time buyer in the UK is now 34 years old.
If that mid-30s individual wants to buy a home in the UK, they'll need to stump up about £282,000, the average house price in the UK (as of January 2024).That price rises to £503,000 in London.
Homes are most expensive in England, considerably cheaper in Wales and even more so in Scotland.
But obviously, buying a home isn't an option for a lot of people, no matter how deep into their 30s (or beyond) they are. An estimated 35% of people in the UK are renters, and that's a market which isn't in a great state either.
How have things changed?
Like food, bills and absolutely everything else, we’ve all seen house prices go up and up over the past 20 years, with the average UK house price in 2007 being around £177,000.
The average age of a first-time home-owner has also increased, but that's been a much more gradual rise – from early thirties to mid.
The amount of rent people are paying rose by 9% in the year to March 2024, biggest increase since records began in 2015.
So whether you pay a mortgage or rent, you’ll probably have noticed big changes in what leaves your bank account every month – and not for the better.
This is why housing is a major factor in all parties' election manifestos ahead of the July election, with each pledging new ways they can make our homes more affordable.
What have the Conservatives promised?
Do you live near a brownfield site? If so, your view could be about to change. A brownfield site is somewhere in an urban area that has been built on before, and it's these sites the Conservatives want to do something about. Among their housing pledges are promises to redevelop these sites, while protecting the UK's essential Green Belt areas.
Here's some of what they've promised to do about housing in the UK, and how they propose to make things better.
"Gentle densification of urban areas". That's what the Conservatives are promising to do with this brownfield land in 20 of the UK's largest cities, including London, Leeds, Liverpool and York. They are promising to build a record number of homes on these sites, and say it'll be done "in the local character" and support local and smaller builders.
There's good news for first-time buyers, with a promise to get more people onto the housing ladder. Firstly, there will be no stamp duty on properties costing up to £425,000 - up from £300,000, and a "new and improved" Help to Buy scheme, which will offer an equity loan for up to 20% towards the cost of a new home. People will also be able to buy a home with a 5% deposit, which will be funded by contributions from the people building the houses.
If you're a renter, there could be housing benefits under another Conservative government. It is promising an end of Section 21, or no-fault evictions, and to pass a Renters Reform Bill, which it says will "deliver fairness" for renters. Additionally, if you're a renter looking to buy the property you live in, there would also be a two-year temporary Capital Gains Tax relief for landlords who sell the property to their tenants.
What have Labour promised?
"Get Britain building again". That's one of the Labour party's key messages ahead of the 2024 General Election.
Labour has promised to build 1.5 million new homes over the next parliament.
They’re said they will give first-time buyers priority in buying homes, ending the “farce of entire developments being sold off to international investors”. In addition, they’ll introduce a mortgage guarantee scheme to support first-time buyers who struggle to save for a large deposit, with lower mortgage costs.
Like the Conservatives, Labour have said they will take a “brownfield first approach,” prioritising development on previously used land and fast-tracking approval of such sites.
They have also said they will support local authorities by hiring additional planning officers, funded through increasing the rate of stamp duty surcharge paid by non-UK residents.
Inspired by the 1945 Labour government, Labour say they will build a generation of new towns, forming part of a series of large-scale new communities across England.
Elsewhere, Labour promise to “deliver the biggest increase in social and affordable house building in a generation” by ensuring developments provide more affordable homes, amongst other things.
What have the Liberal Democrats promised?
The Liberal Democrats say the UK is at "crisis point" when it comes to the lack of affordable social housing, and describes UK homelessness as "shamefully high". The party says it will ensure "everyone can access housing that meets their needs".
The party has promised to increase the number of new homes built in the UK to 380,000 a year, and 150,000 of these will be social homes. It will also develop new garden-cities, and its development of cities and towns will be led by the local community.
There will be big changes for renters. The party has pledged to immediately ban no-fault evictions, as well as making three-year tenancies a default and setting up a national register of licensed landlords.
It will also give local authorities the power to end Right to Buy schemes in their areas. The scheme offered benefits for some people, but has been criticised for resulting in a lack of social housing, with governments not building property to replace those bought by former tenants.
Homelessness is also a key concern, with a promise to end rough sleeping within the next parliament, and to scrap the Vagrancy Act immediately. The 200-year-old Vagrancy Act makes it an offence to sleep rough or beg, and was introduced in 1824.
You can read the Liberal Democrats full 2024 manifesto here.
Homelessness is also a key concern, with a promise to end rough sleeping within the next Parliament, and to scrap the Vagrancy Act immediately. The 200-year-old Vagrancy Act makes it an offence to sleep rough or beg, and was introduced in 1824.
What have The Green Party pledged?
The Green Party's pledges are mostly very similar to what has been promised by its rivals. More social homes, an end to the individual 'right to buy' scheme, rent controls and an end to no-fault evictions.
But as you might expect, the differences here really come in how they want to ensure our homes are most cost-effective and more environmentally friendly.
Its manifesto promises to ensure new homes ("where appropriate") are kitted out with solar panels and heat pumps – while insulation is also a very big priority in the Green's housing plans.
Describing British houses as "the worst-insulated homes in Europe", the Greens promise to invest billions in insulating homes and other properties across the UK. This will reduce energy bills as we try to keep our drafty, British properties warm in winter.
They're pledging to spend £29 billion over the next five years to insulate homes, saying they'll push for a "street-by-street retrofit programme" to achieve this, which would be led by local authorities.
At the time, £9 billion will be spent on low-carbon heating systems, and £4 billion on insulating other buildings.
What have Reform UK promised?
Reform UK name immigration as the "main factor" for the lack of housing in the UK. But while some of the their policies echo what we've heard from other parties, where Reform differ is their approach to renters and private landlords.
While other parties are pledging to implement the long-awaited Renters Reform Bill and bring an end to no-fault evictions, Reform UK would abolish it, claiming "existing legislation was adequate to address bad practices". 30,230 landlords started no-fault eviction proceedings in 2023, a rise of a 28% from the previous year.
They would also scrap tax charges for smaller landlords, to encourage more people to let their properties to tenants.
When it comes to providing homes for people from overseas who are now living in the UK, they have declared that foreign nationals will be sent "to the back of the queue" for social housing, stating these properties should go to "those who have paid into the system".
And like other parties, Reform UK would prioritise redevelopment on brownfield site in urban areas, including empty office buildings and properties on the high street.
So what next?
A recent YouGov survey showed that housing was one of the top ten voting priorities for people in the upcoming General Election, and as important to voters as tax.
So whoever takes power this summer will need to address housing issues across the UK if it wants to keep the support of its voters.
What do the News Agents think?
"In inverted commas, why do you hate first time buyers so much?" Emily Maitlis asked economist Roger Bootle on The News Agents.
"I don't. I was one myself... We need more accommodation, while I think the average MP is obsessed with ladders," Bootle replied, adding he is irritated by the way first-time buyers are focused on and written about.
"There are plenty of other people whose interests need to be taken account of, and the solution to everyone's problems is not necessarily to own a house with a socking great mortgage."
Journalist Vicky Spratt told Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel the lack of social homes had caused a "double whammy" in the private rental sector.
"You've got low income renters who can't get social housing, pushing by local authorities into the private rental sector," Spratt told The News Agents.
"Then you've got slightly wealthier renters who maybe could have got a mortgage when lending conditions were more favourable, but now even if they could get a mortgage, are paying so much in rent they can't save up for a deposit."
Maitlis replied: "We need more landlords, quite simply or we need more housing."