‘Entirely avoidable’: Build-to-rent housebuilding slows as London planning wait doubles April 15, 2026 The construction of build-to-rent homes in Britain is in danger of grinding to a halt as the planning wait for London homes has almost doubled in this decade. The number of build-to-rent homes under construction has fallen for the ninth consecutive quarter, according to data shared exclusively with City AM. The government has pledged to [...]
Labour must reform biodiversity laws to boost housebuilding, trade body says April 3, 2026 Housebuilders are calling on the government to reform its biodiversity quotas for developers to lessen the costs and delays they say it causes to businesses. The Home Builders Federation (HBF), which represents the housebuilding industry, welcomed recent changes to biodiversity laws but said they do not go far enough in lifting the burden on housebuilders. [...]
Berkeley shares plummet as it ‘pulls up drawbridge’ and stops buying land April 1, 2026 Shares in leading housebuilder Berkeley plummeted on Wednesday after it paused housebuilding to protect its balance sheet against an “unprecedented increase in cost and regulation”. The firm’s share price fell by more than 17 per cent shortly after markets opened, to a decade low, leaving the stock down 28 per cent this year at 2,832p. [...]
Family-run construction firms pushed ‘to brink’ by inheritance tax April 1, 2026 Family-run construction firms are being pushed to the brink of insolvency by reforms to inheritance tax which undermine Labour’s housebuilding target, a trade body has warned. Plant-hire firms – which provide machinery and services to the construction sector – are almost always family run and are being forced to scale back by inheritance tax changes, [...]
Housebuying demand falls as Iran war spikes mortgage rates March 30, 2026 Housebuying demand has fallen as Brits take a “wait and see” approach after the Iran war spiked mortgage rates and prompted lenders to take hundreds of deals off the market. Buyer enquiries were 13 per cent lower in March than a year ago, as mortgage rates climbed by an average of 0.4 per cent over [...]
Cancel student debt in exchange for first time buyer equity, housebuilders urge government March 24, 2026 Cash-strapped graduates struggling to get on the property ladder should have their debt written off in exchange for giving over a stake of their first home to the government, a new report has urged. The report, backed by more than 50 housing sector bodies including top housebuilders Vistry and Barratt Redrow, proposes offering a discount [...]
Housebuilding stocks slump as Bellway issues Iran mortgage warning March 24, 2026 Shares in Bellway slumped eight per cent after it warned the Iran war is causing mortgage “volatility,” as a host of leading housebuilders were dragged down with it. FTSE 100 housebuilders Barratt Redrow, Berkeley and Persimmon were all down at least one per cent on Tuesday’s early trading, with the latter taking a two per [...]
Housebuilder hopes raised as government pledges 200k homes in new town scheme March 23, 2026 Housebuilders are hoping for a boom in construction after the government pledged nearly 200,000 new homes as part of its new town programme, though it has cut five potential sites from its shortlist. Labour’s housing and communities department is billing the scheme as the most ambitious housebuilding plan in the last 50 years, with seven [...]
Sluggish economy spooks small housebuilders March 20, 2026 Small and medium (SME) housebuilders are being put off from investing in new projects by the UK’s economy and housing market, according to a new report. As many as 70 per cent of SME building firms said current market conditions are reducing their appetite for starting new sites and a quarter expect to cut back [...]
Iran war to drive up building costs, warns Travis Perkins boss March 17, 2026 The boss of the UK’s largest builders’ merchant has warned building costs are poised to rise as suppliers warn they are facing soaring energy costs. Gavin Slark, the new boss of Travis Perkins, said the conflict in the Middle East and the resulting spike of energy prices will force manufacturers to put up prices to [...]