London house prices: RICS says next mayor of London should give public land away to people who want to build their own homes
The next mayor of London should earmark public land for Londoners who want to build their own new homes, a leading group of chartered surveyors have argued.
In a new report out today, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said whoever succeeds Boris Johnson in City Hall should “let residents take housing into their own hands” by setting aside public land for community groups promoting “self-build” projects and creating a so-called crack squad of planning experts to be sent to boroughs seeing construction delays.
“The incoming mayor must seize on Londoners’ sense of community, and put practical plans in place to encourage groups to come together on self-build projects and tackle the growing housing shortage,” said Chris Day, who chairs the RICS London board.
The RICS report also calls for a new tax on land that has seen its value increase as a result of infrastructure projects and increased funding for “incubators” providing commercial space for small businesses and startups.