The competition watchdog has launched an investigation into eight house builders for the failure to build enough homes and warned ‘significant intervention’ is needed to end the housing crisis.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said difficulties with the planning system and the limits of speculative private development capped the number of homes delivered while a lack of competitive incentives was leading to more residents experiencing quality issues.
Fewer than 250,000 homes were built across England, Scotland, and Wales, last year – well below the 300,000 homes-target for England set by the government.
The watchdog has now opened an investigation into whether eight housebuilders – Barratt, Bellway, Berkeley, Bloor Homes, Persimmon, Redrow, Taylor Wimpey, and Vistry – shared commercially sensitive information with their competitors, which could be influencing the build-out of sites and the prices of new homes. No conclusion has been reached at this stage, the CMA said.
“Housebuilding in Great Britain needs significant intervention so that enough good quality homes are delivered in the places that people need them,” said Sarah Cardell, chief executive of the CMA.
“Our report – which follows a year-long study – is recommending a streamlining of the planning system and increased consumer protections. If implemented, we would expect to see many more homes built each year, helping make homes more affordable.