Berkeley Group just had a massive rant about London’s housing crisis, saying it “poses a risk to deficit reduction”
Housebuilder Berkeley Group had made its feelings on London's housing crisis very clear this morning, slamming government housing policy and saying the problems "pose a risk to deficit reduction".
Berkeley Group said this morning: "What is increasingly clear is that government policy, which has been helpful outside London, has had a negative effect on the capital.
"Transaction taxes are now too high and this is restricting both mobility in the second hand market and the pace of supply and delivery of new homes in London and the South East."
Read more: Berkeley Group's home reservations hit by stamp duty and the Brexit vote
The company also said there is a "tension" between the the government's Starter Homes policy, designed to help first time buyers, and London mayor Sadiq Khan's goal to create more affordable housing in the capital.
Next, Berkeley Group complained about the Community Infrastructure Levy – a planning charge – saying it poses "a significant threat to development viability".
London will never build the homes it needs while these problems hamper the industry, Berkeley Group said, and the government needs to make it easier for small developers to get building.
Read more: Berkeley Group has suspended a £20m development in Barnes
As its final parting shot, Berkeley Group said:
This is not just a problem for businesses and ordinary people in the capital but for the country as a whole.
London is the engine of our national economy and the principal driver of our fiscal revenues.
So this is not just a question of housing Londoners – important though that is.
It poses a risk to deficit reduction and the prosperity of the whole country.
The rant was part of the housebuilder's trading statement; it holds its annual general meeting later today, just days after the company was relegated from the FTSE 100.