London councils won’t be able to sue their way to more homes being built June 25, 2026 Last week I asked the chief executive of one of the country’s largest housing developers to sum up the state of housebuilding in London, and the answer was “dire.” If I’d allowed two words I suspect one of them would have been unprintable. The situation is so disastrous that Sadiq Khan was forced to lower [...]
Berkeley warns of London housing slowdown in call for ‘political leadership’ from Burnham June 24, 2026 Berkeley has called for “strong political leadership” on housebuilding from potential Prime Minister Andy Burnham as it warned that London is on course to miss its housing targets. The capital’s biggest housebuilder issued a swathe of demands to policymakers, warning that there is “no prospect of material improvement” on housebuilding “without more decisive intervention” from [...]
Housebuilder Bellway warns mortgage rate hikes dampening housing demand June 9, 2026 Bellway has said that recent rises to mortgage rates as a result of the Iran war are dampening demand for housing, on top of rising building cost inflation due to the conflict. The FTSE 250 housebuilder said it has seen a “moderation” in customer demand in April and May, bringing an end to a “positive” [...]
Local authorities thwart housebuilding with ‘manifestly unfair’ council tax raid on developers May 28, 2026 Cash-strapped local authorities across Britain are thwarting efforts to increase housebuilding by hitting property developers with steep council tax bills as soon as their homes are listed as complete, an influential industry body has warned. In a paper shared with City AM, the boss of the Home Builders Federation (HBF) accused local councils of slapping [...]
Is housebuilding in London impossible? May 25, 2026 After its 900-home development in Peckham was blocked, housebuilder Berkeley said it can “no longer invest” in London. Felix Armstrong asks whether development in the capital really has hit a brick wall At the Aylesham Centre in Peckham, south London, shoppers are met with graffitied walls, peeling paint and shuttered retail units. The site began [...]
Peckham could do with some Del Boy graft May 21, 2026 Peckham’s most famous son, Del Boy, once observed that “He who dares, wins” – adding “He who hesitates, don’t.” It’s a motto on which Southwark Council would do well to reflect, considering there are more than 22,000 people on the borough’s social housing waiting list. Southwark’s Liberal Democrats point out it will take the council [...]
Housebuilders on hook for mansion tax if they fail to sell property after a year May 20, 2026 Property developers will be forced to pay the Labour’s new mansion tax if they take more than a year to offload newly built luxury homes, raising fresh fears that housebuilders will be further disincentivised from building homes in the capital. As part of plans included in a Treasury consultation document, housing developers will be liable [...]
‘Downright offensive’: Southwark council slammed for blocking 900 homes May 19, 2026 Southwark council has been blasted for celebrating the blocking of an 867-home development on the site of a Peckham shopping centre. The local authority hailed a “great day for Peckham” after housebuilder Berkeley failed to overturn a ruling against the development, which would have delivered retail, leisure and commercial space alongside the hundreds of homes. [...]
Councils turn to AI to boost housebuilding May 18, 2026 Local councils across the country are turning to artificial intelligence to speed up the planning process, as Labour’s 1.5m housebuilding target clashes with a slowing construction sector. A number of local authorities – including several in the capital – have either piloted or implemented AI planning tools, but housing leaders have warned that the government [...]
Labour ‘failing’ renters: Brits work for 133 days to pay landlords May 14, 2026 Today’s the day when Brits will finally stop working just to pay their landlords and start earning money for their own pockets, with 14 May the point in the year when the average tenant has brought in enough income to pay for a year’s accommodation. Known as the “cost of rent day”, it now arrives [...]