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‘Get on and Build' Deputy Prime Minister urges housebuilders: "This policy misses the point entirely"

ended 27. May 2025

Thousands of new homes promised to communities will be delivered faster, thanks to major changes to make sure developers deliver on their commitments and do not leave sites half-finished for years.

For the first time, under new government proposals announced over the weekend, housebuilders will have to commit to delivery timeframes before they get planning permission, making sure they play their part to accelerate housebuilding and tackle the housing crisis head on to deliver security for working people.

Under new rules, housebuilders will also have to submit annual reports showing their progress to councils to keep them on track. While most developers want to get on and build, those who consistently fail to build out consented sites and those who secure planning permissions simply to trade land speculatively could also face a ‘Delayed Homes Penalty’ worth thousands per unbuilt home, paid directly to local planning authorities. Newspage asked experts for their views, below.

3 responses from the Newspage community

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Rob Peters
Principal at Simple Fast Mortgage
This is yet another example of a government trying to legislate its way out of a problem it doesn’t understand. Developers want to build, it’s how they make money. But with build costs exceeding sale values in many areas, and everything from planning to regulation to taxes becoming more expensive, delivering homes just isn’t viable in many parts of the country. Fining developers for not building ignores the mountain of problems they’re already navigating. Planning delays, expensive compliance, labour shortages, sky-high material costs and a fragile sales market make projects harder than ever to execute. If developers can’t make a profit, they won’t build, no matter how many threats or penalties are introduced. This policy misses the point entirely.
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Stephen Perkins
Managing Director at Yellow Brick Mortgages
The two main concerns around this government push to build faster are firstly that most developments are being backlogged in getting planning approval and this is adding an additional requirement to that. Secondly when under financial pressure to build quickly I fear quality of builds could be negatively affected. Perhaps the government should focus on removing the blockages from the system before reaching for the stick.
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David Belle
Founder and Trader at Fink Money
Whenever I hear someone say 'just' do something, it tends to mean they do not understand the policy they're proposing, or the problem. Housebuilders exist to build. If they aren't building then Starmer should perhaps think there is a a problem. I gather what will occur now is housebuilders will shut up shop and not build at all, since the issue that is stopping them from building is not their desire, it is the cost of land, planning and tax that has been put on them by various governments... including Starmer's own. It's another symptom of the lack of second order thinking amongst politicians, and something that needs to be rectified ASAP.