Article:
The Archive Messages from Rutherford Hall
Rutherford Hall, a critical communications strategist, has sent a series of WhatsApp messages to Stephen, DanSmith, and Eleanorsh discussing the UK’s housing market, political pressure, and how home builders can increase production. Hall reveals that builders are not interested in building more houses, but they want the policy to shift the blame from them to the politicians and offer subsidies to help people pay for houses they cannot afford.
Winning the TickyTacky Contract
Hall starts the discussion by informing Stephen that they have won the contract for TickyTacky, one of the UK’s largest home builders. The company is concerned about the state of the market and political pressure to build more housing. Hall clarifies that builders do not want to build more houses, they want to sell them with healthy margins. Builders want people to stop blaming them for the supply shortages and start holding politicians accountable for the policies that hinder construction.
Home Builders’ Five-Point Plan
Hall meets DanSmith and discusses TickyTacky’s five-point plan to increase production by 60 percent if fully adopted. The plan calls for planning reform, mandatory targets, removing environmental regulations, local infrastructure development, and realistic expectations about the number of affordable housing units eroding margins. While Hall acknowledges that these measures may take time to pass, they could have the fastest impact on the market. Therefore, it’s crucial that they speed up measures that could benefit the market, such as financial support for young families and first-time buyers trying to take the first step up the ladder.
Affordable Housing and Government Support
Hall reaches out to Eleanorsh, proposing the need for government support for young families and first-time buyers who cannot afford to buy houses already on sale. He suggests extending home equity loans under the Help to Buy scheme to help potential buyers. However, he acknowledges that these schemes keep prices high, which gives builders the incentive to build more houses. Lower house prices might seem attractive to those climbing the ladder, but it’s less attractive to those already on it. Hall argues that it’s better to spend a little government money to help more people afford the unaffordable than to make the unaffordable more affordable.
Additional Piece:
The Housing Market Crisis: Why Are Builders Blaming Politicians?
The UK’s housing market crisis is a result of multiple factors, including lack of supply, increase in demand, and strict planning regulations. Builders are often blamed for the supply shortage, but as Hall points out, builders are not interested in building more houses, they want to sell them with healthy margins. The issue lies in the policies that restrict housing construction and put a brake on development.
Planning Regulations Hinder Construction
Planning regulations have been widely blamed for the slow construction of houses in the UK. Planning requirements have increased significantly in recent years with numerous environmental and social factors to be considered in every development. For instance, builders often face strict regulations on construction methods that impact the number of dwellings they can build on a plot of land. These regulations also lead to higher costs and lower margins, which ultimately impacts supply.
Rising Demand and Limited Supply
The demand for housing is consistently high, but the supply is limited. The number of houses in the UK is not meeting the demand, leading to higher prices. This crisis mainly affects first-time buyers and young families looking to take their first step up the ladder. According to a report by the Resolution Foundation, the number of homeowners between the ages of 25 and 35 has fallen drastically. In 1995, 67 percent of this age group owned their homes, while in 2018 only 35 percent did.
Environmental Regulations vs. Affordable Housing
The UK government has strict environmental regulations for builders. These regulations aim to reduce carbon emissions and protect the environment by setting standards for energy efficiency, water usage, and other factors. However, these regulations also significantly increase costs for builders, which are often passed on to buyers, leading to unaffordable housing. Builders may also face public scrutiny for building on greenfield sites, leading to the preservation of green spaces but also limiting the availability of housing.
Conclusion
The UK’s housing market crisis is complex, with multiple factors contributing to limited supply and higher prices. Builders are not interested in building more houses, but to sell houses with healthy margins. The government needs to change policies and address planning regulations, provide government support, and consider the environmental impact of building. By addressing these issues, the UK’s housing market could become more sustainable and affordable to young families and first-time buyers.
Summary:
The Archive Messages from Rutherford Hall reveal that builders are not interested in building more houses but want policies to shift the blame from them to the politicians and offer subsidies to help people pay for unaffordable houses. The strict planning regulations, increase in demand, and lack of supply are responsible for the UK’s housing market crisis. The government should provide support to first-time buyers, address planning regulations, and consider the environmental impact of building to ensure a sustainable and affordable housing market.
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Archive Messages from Rutherford Hall, Critical Communications Strategist
WhatsApp to Stephen: Good news. We have won the contract for TickyTacky, one of the UK’s largest home builders. Like the rest of the industry, they are very concerned about the state of the market and the evolution of political politics.
WhatsApp to Stephen: Yes, they are especially concerned about the political pressure to build more housing.
WhatsApp to Stephen: No, no, that’s a common misunderstanding. House builders do not want to build more houses. They do not exist to build houses. They exist to sell houses, with healthy margins.
WhatsApp to Stephen: Exactly. They don’t want the policy to lead to a rapid increase in housing construction. They just want people to stop blaming them for not building them and start blaming the politicians. Oh, and they’d like more subsidies to help people pay for houses they currently can’t afford because homebuilders aren’t building enough.
From: Rutherford@Monkwellstrategy.com
To: dansmith@tickytacky.com
Dan, great to talk to. This is clearly a hot topic and will remain so until the election, so our work cannot start too soon. Our argument is that we are desperate to build more and we want reforms that will release the planning laws that act as a brake on development.
We frame the problem as one of nimbism and bureaucracy, in other words, government failure. We need planning reform, mandatory targets, and we need to remove absurd environmental regulations that put crested newts, fruit bats, or clean water in the path of development.
But we also need recognition that development may take some time, as other conditions would need to be met; local infrastructure, realistic expectations about the number of affordable housing units eroding margins, and of course rising property prices. So until we can meet our key goal of building more housing, we need government support for people who are out of the market due to supply shortages.
Best Rutherford
Meet me at Strava, KoM Sydenham Hill, PR London to Brighton 3h 37m
WhatsApp to DanSmith: Don’t worry. I understand that our key objective is not really to increase supply. But it sounds better than “our approach is to maintain prices by ensuring that supply follows current demand, so we prefer to drive demand.”
whatsapp to dan smith: Can we estimate how many more houses we could build if our remedies were adopted? Don’t worry; they won’t be. All the people who agreed with us got kicked out with Liz Truss.
From: Rutherford@Monkwellstrategy.com
To: Eleanorsh@No10.gov.uk
Thanks for your time. Just wanted to ping some talking points for your manifesto politics and thinking.
TickyTacky is desperate to build more houses. That is its raison d’etre after all. His five-point plan could increase production by 60 percent if fully adopted.
But between us, the kind of measures we’re talking about will take a long time to pass. So we may need to speed up measures that could have the fastest impact on the market: financial support for young families and first-time buyers trying to take the first step up the ladder? There is much to be said for the extension of home equity loans under the Help to Buy scheme to support those who cannot afford to buy the houses that are already on sale. Best Rutherford
Find me on Strava. . .
To: Eleanorsh@No10.gov.uk
Yes, you’re right, those schemes keep prices high, but that gives home builders that crucial incentive to build houses. I think your analogy with OPEC is a bit unfair. Homebuilders have shareholders to consider.
I know lower house prices feel like a victory for those trying to climb the ladder, but it’s less attractive to those already on it, who are the majority of your voters. Do we really want to depress the market with an increase in supply when we can simply help people pay for what is already there? It’s much better to spend a little government money to make sure more people can afford the unaffordable than to make the unaffordable more affordable.
When it comes to green houses, no one is more supportive of green and energy efficient homes than TickyTacky, it’s just that it drives the price up, so without government subsidies it’s not an efficient use of your energy to build them. better, r
Find me on Strava. . .
WhatsApp to DanSmith: We are making progress. It helps that the elections are so close and there is no time for longer-term ideas. But they are still pushing hard for more affordable housing.
WhatsApp to DanSmith: Yes, they mean the ones you build with smaller windows so those in expensive houses can tell who has money and who doesn’t.
WhatsApp to DanSmith: I’m not sure that the fact that you can afford it makes something an affordable home :-). great you are doing Today program. Try this audio snippet if you can.
“For us, each house built and sold is someone’s dream come true. That is our purpose. The more houses we can build, the more dreams we can fulfill. We just need the government to work with us to build those dreams.”
Messages Recovered by Robert Shrimsley
https://www.ft.com/content/2e17974f-3337-4326-8f62-3521e1ae7666
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