One of the biggest topics in the lead up to the next General Election will be housing supply. It is a huge issue and major political parties will need to show they are looking to tackle it. Labour has already revealed some details of one thing they could try if they come into power. We want to have a look at the plan and the impact it could have. Then, if you need help with things like guaranteed rent in Hillingdon, you can speak to us.

Land valuation

What Labour is proposing is a reform of how land is valued when a council tries to do a compulsory purchase order. The hope is it will unlock more land for redevelopment. It would lead to the creation of more housing across England, including affordable homes.

Compulsory purchases orders are a great power for local councils to have. They can use them to get property owners to sell. As a result, it can remove obstacles to major projects and developments.

However, there is a big issue here. At the moment the CPOs can price the land with “hope value” in mind. What this does is look at the valuation if the land had planning permission. It can significantly increase the cost of plots.

The main problem here is it can put a lot more pressure on local councils. It makes the land more expensive before anything else has been done to redevelop it. In some cases it could completely price the council out of a purchase. In others it can make a redevelopment infeasible because of a lack of funding to reach completion.

Labour would like to reform CPOs so they do not have to include “hope value”. They believe it would lead to fairer land prices. It would ensure that taxpayers got the best value for money with these purchases. In addition, it would also ensure England had a similar approach to countries like France and Germany.

If approved, the new process would give more power to the Secretary of State. It would be their job to decide if a CPO will get approval and if it will be appropriate to remove “hope value”.

Why not try guaranteed rent in Hillingdon?

As you can see, a change could be beneficial for unlocking more land for redevelopment to create housing. In turn it could provide more opportunities for investors. There could be more construction projects as well as an influx of new homes to consider.

If you do invest in properties, we have wonderful services for you. We excel at guaranteed rent in Hillingdon and other parts of London. It can protect your interests by ensuring you get a payment every month. This takes away the risk of having no tenants or ones that pay late or fail to entirely.

So, if you want to learn more, please contact us.