Britain’s housing crisis is being strangled by a planning system landlords say is bloated, broken and bleeding taxpayers dry — with billions spent on paperwork while families struggle to find homes.
New research from buy-to-let lender Landbay exposes the scale of frustration. More than three-quarters (77%) of landlords say the government’s promised planning reforms will do nothing to support their businesses. Fewer than one in four expect any benefit. Just 13% believe the reforms will make new-builds easier to purchase, and only 9% think they could spark job creation or economic growth.
Almost half of landlords surveyed insist planning reform alone cannot fix the housing crisis. Instead, they point to a construction sector crippled by labour shortages and rising costs — a problem Westminster has so far failed to address.
Rob Stanton, sales and distribution director at Landbay, warned the government is in denial about the scale of the problem.
“If property investors are not convinced planning reform will positively affect their business, we’re in real trouble,” he said. “Landlords are key players in the housing market — converting properties, extending homes, delivering new-builds. Their verdict on reform is damning.”
Stanton reeled off a litany of planning disasters.
-
The Lower Thames Crossing: over a quarter of a billion pounds blown on planning and paperwork — and not a single spade in the ground.
-
HS2: the world’s most expensive railway line, crippled by spiralling costs.
-
Portishead railway line: a three-mile stretch buried under 80,000 pages of planning documents, including more than 1,000 pages about bats.
“This isn’t reform. It’s paralysis,” Stanton said. “Norway built the world’s longest tunnel for less than it has cost us just to plan one crossing. Britain’s planning system is a global embarrassment.”
The findings will pile fresh pressure on ministers, accused of fiddling with bureaucracy while the housing market burns. With landlords and developers united in their scepticism, the government faces a stark choice: slash red tape, or preside over the continued collapse of housing supply.