One issue must dominate the UK general election campaign... housing

Announcing her decision to hold a snap general election on 8 June, Theresa May yesterday made it clear that Brexit would dominate the campaign as she seeks a mandate from voters for her strategy in the forthcoming negotiations on the terms of Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union.

But ahead of the general election, all political parties are being urged to set out clear strategies on how they would tackle the shortage of residential properties across the UK and ensure that housing is a primary political issue.

David Cox, chief executive of the ARLA Propertymark (Association of Residential Letting Agents) and the NAEA Propertymark’s (National Association of Estate Agents) Mark Hayward issued a joint statement yesterday stating that “all political parties need to put housing front and centre in their election manifestos.”

The pair continued: “The country is rapidly moving towards crisis point, where a chronic shortage of housing has become unsustainable. Rather than trying to look at individual issues, it’s time to take a holistic view of housing policy.”

Both ARLA and the NAEA are waiting to find out the impact the general election will have on the consultation regarding the proposed ban of letting agent fees charged to tenants, but as its already been launched, they expect it to continue.

“We are seeking clarification from DCLG Department for [Communities and Local Government] on this point,” they added.