The Government could take three immediate steps to ease the UK’s chronic housing crisis, according to a new report from the London School of Economics (LSE).

The study, sponsored by the Family Building Society, proposes scrapping stamp duty for older homeowners, imposing tighter taxation on second homes and short-term lets, and treating private landlords as businesses.

The authors argue that these relatively simple reforms could unlock thousands of homes and improve the overall quality of rental housing without waiting for long-term planning reforms to take effect.

The report, titled A More Coherent Road Map 2: Using the Existing Stock More Effectively, was led by Christine Whitehead, emeritus professor of housing economics at LSE, in collaboration with professor Tony Crook of Sheffield University and Kelvin MacDonald of Cambridge University.

It stresses the importance of focusing not only on new housing delivery, but on improving the use of the existing stock, which accounts for 99% of all homes at any given time. New homes, by comparison, make up only around 1% of the annual supply.

One of the key proposals is to exempt older households from stamp duty land tax to enable them to downsize or move to more suitable accommodation, thus freeing up larger family homes for younger generations.

A second recommendation is to increase taxation on second homes and short-term lets to bring more properties back into full-time residential use.

The third is to treat landlords in the private rental sector on a level playing field with other businesses, which the authors argue would incentivise higher standards and longer-term thinking.

Professor Whitehead said: “The Labour government’s current housing policy has put almost all the emphasis on new build. Yet even when their National Policy Planning Framework is fully in place it is unlikely that anything like 300,000 new homes per annum will be added to overall housing supply, at least during their first term.”

She warned that while plans to develop green and grey belt land and invest in new and expanded towns may have long-term potential, the benefits are unlikely to be realised in the near future.

“It will take time to bring green and grey belt into development except where there is unused infrastructure available. The development of new and extended towns, while a very popular policy offering significant long-term potential, is unlikely to be fully operational within the next decade.”

ONGOING CONCERNS

The report also highlights ongoing concerns about the funding of social and affordable housing. According to the authors, many housing associations lack the capital to acquire new homes under Section 106 agreements, which in turn discourages developers from building homes of any tenure, particularly in London.

Professor Whitehead added: “While we clearly need all the new homes we can get, improving the use of the existing stock has far more immediate potential to improve housing conditions.”

Mark Bogard, chief executive of the Family Building Society, said: “This latest Government has put great store in housing as a key engine for the growth so very badly needed in the UK economy and to support their spending objectives. But we have not seen a coherent policy, yet.

“It has focused on new build; and, as this report highlights, this is only 1% of what is at stake each year. Optimising the use of the existing stock which makes up the other 99%, matters far more.”

He added: “As this report shows there are actions that can be taken immediately to improve the situation. Going forward we need a coherent policy, joined-up government thinking and oversight of delivery of the policy objectives.”

“Housing matters to everyone, every night when they go to bed whether they own or rent, private or social. It matters to people for their children. It matters to the elderly that they live in suitable accommodation.”

In a final call to action, Bogard urged ministers to consider their legacy. “What greater legacy could any politician have than laying the ground for starting to sort out the mess that housing policy has been for so long in this country,” he said.

The full report is available to download at www.familybuildingsociety.co.uk/integrated-housing.