13.05.20
Housing Secretary to re-start housing market with new measures
Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has published a plan to re-start the housing market allowing anyone form today (May 13) to move home providing health and safety guidance is followed.
According to the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, more than 450,000 people have been unable to progress the house moving process since lockdown restrictions began in March.
Today’s announcement means that estate agents, conveyancers and removals firms can return to work and buyers and renters can view properties in person.
To kickstart the housing market, Jenrick has set out a number of measures aiming to boost the number of homes being built for the future. These include flexibility on construction site working hours to allow arrival times of builders to be staggered, making social distancing more attainable and easing pressure of public transport.
Local councils and developers have also been given the green light to publish planning applications on social media rather than posters and leaflets and finally giving more support to smaller developers through the option to defer payments, easing cash flow issues.
Housing Secretary Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP said:
“Today I am announcing new guidelines to allow the housing market to resume. Our clear plan will enable people to move home safely, covering each aspect of the sales and letting process from viewings to removals.
“Our step by step plan is based on the latest guidance to ensure the safety and protection of everyone involved.
“This critical industry can now safely move forward, and those waiting patiently to move can now do so.”
A new Charter has been published by the Government and the Home Builders Federation to outline exactly how workers can stay safe on site and further reduce the risk of the virus being transmitted on site.
It follows a number of measures from Government to support this sector such as more than £330bn of loans to help firms continue operating, mortgage holidays and self-assessment payment deferral.
It also comes after the Scottish Government made £100m available for SME housebuilders in Scotland.