Covid-19: Housing

Lord McNally Excerpts

Monday 18th May 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Greenhalgh]

The noble Baroness is right: registered social landlords play a huge part in housebuilding, and their important part in our future provision of affordable homes of all types continues. That goes for private sales by owners, too. I have already stated that there is an affordable homes programme of some £12.5 billion over the next five years. We will work closely and engage with the industry. I thank the noble Baroness for her comments.

[Lord McNally (LD)]

Is it not the sound truth that successive Governments over the last 30 years have allowed our housing sector to be distorted to its present state where young people and poorer people are simply priced out? What is needed is not simply “back to business” but a real commitment by the Government to a whole new approach to housing. If I may say so, the Minister is not short of ideas to have been put to him this evening.

[Lord Greenhalgh]

I thank the noble Lord for his points. He is right that housing affordability is a problem for the next generation and the one that follows. We note that, as a result of this pandemic, it is estimated that house prices have fallen by somewhere between 10% and 30%. We need to understand that the way to deal with the housing crisis is the provision of new homes and ensure that we facilitate those second moves so that the whole housing market gets going again.