The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is warning that renters could be forgotten, as the housing debate seems to be focusing more on ownership. CBI estimates that one in five households will be privately rented by the year 2018. As a result, they believe that £57 billion worth of investment in the private rented sector is necessary to meet this demand.
Support
CBI Chief Policy Director Katja Hall, suggests: “While it’s right to support first time buyers, we must make sure people who rent are not forgotten.”
She says: “The rental sector offers huge opportunities for growth and more large-scale institutional investment is needed.”
Hall believes: “A VAT reduction on repair and renovation would help push investment decisions over the line.”[1]
Initiatives
The CBI has outlined a number of initiatives that they believe will sufficiently benefit renters. These include:
- Speeding up the complete roll-out of the Private Rented Sector Guarantee Scheme.
- Councils having to outline their plans on tackling rising demand for accommodation.
- Utilising the buy-to-let fund to show how private rented sector investment provides profitable returns.
- The introduction of build now, pay later schemes to quicken up land use.
- Changing legislation to find a balance in protecting tenants and not creating too much work for landlords.
The confederation believes that the amount of people residing in the private rented sector will continue to thrive, due to three main areas:
- Population growth.
- Inflated prices of housing due to lack of supply.
- The cost of living.
[1] http://www.rman.co.uk/latest-news/article/employers-plea-not-to-forget-generation-rent