Building more
co-living developments and micro-homes in urban areas top the list of people’s
preferred solutions to the housing crisis according to new research by the
Federation of Master Builders (FMB), while building on the greenbelt is the
least favoured solution.
The FMB asked 2,000
home owners across the UK if there is a housing shortage and if so, how best to
address this shortage. The key results are as follows:
• Two-thirds (66%)
believe that there is a shortage of housing in the UK.
• When asked for views
on the most appropriate solutions to the housing shortage, the most commonly
cited were as follows:
1) Build more
co-living developments (33%);
2) Build more
micro-homes in urban areas (31%);
3) Build more granny
flats (31%);
4) Extend permitted
development rights (27%);
5) Encourage more
multi-generational living (24%);
6) Excavate or convert
more basements underneath existing properties (18%); and
7) Build on the
greenbelt (17%).
Commenting on the
research, Brian
Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said: “Even the vast majority of those
who are lucky enough to own their own home recognise that there’s a housing
shortage. When asked about solutions to this problem, the most popular remedy
was to construct more co-living developments, which are becoming more and more
popular in major cities right across the globe.
"Building more
micro-homes in urban areas was the second most commonly cited solution to the
UK housing crisis. Both of these approaches would increase density in urban
areas where demand is particularly high. The creation of more granny flats was
the third most popular solution, which would see more elderly people moving out
of their properties and living alongside children or grandchildren in
self-contained home extensions. This would free up much-needed family homes,
which are being under-used by older people living on their own.
"Perhaps
unsurprisingly, home owners, who are clearly already on the property ladder,
see building on the greenbelt as the least desirable option.
“While these solutions
are food for thought, if we want to solve the housing crisis, we need to reduce
barriers to small, local building firms. Recent research from the Federation of
Master Builders shows that the lack of small sites and difficulties hiring
skilled tradespeople are limiting the amount of homes these firms can build.
"Removing
barriers to SME house builders matters as in the late 1980s, two-thirds of all
new homes were built by small local house builders and this was a time when
house building was in step with demand. Currently SME house builders build less
than one quarter of all new homes and as this proportion has declined, so too
has the capacity of our industry to deliver the homes we need.
"Reviving the
fortunes of SME builders undoubtedly has a key role to play in delivering the
Government’s target of 300,000 new homes a year in England alone, and is key to
solving the housing crisis once and for all.”
