Councils call on pension funds to provide social housing

London councils say that they need investment from major pension funds and insurance companies to build enough homes to ease the capital’s housing crisis.

A report launched today by the British Property Federation and London Councils, which represents the City’s 33 local authorities, recommends partnerships in which councils free up land for development by major investors.

It also recommends that instead of forcing developers to provide affordable housing, developers should be allowed to build homes with lower than market rents in order to unlock stalled sites.
 
Major investors should also be allowed to provide housing to vulnerable people and key workers, the report argues.

Sir Steve Bullock, Mayor of Lewisham and London Councils’ executive member for housing, said: “Institutional investors have access to the scale of funding needed to develop first-rate private rented and mixed tenure schemes, and local authorities, through their planning powers and their capacity to invest their own resources, can ensure that such schemes arrive on site.”

The Bank of Mum and Dad appears to be the only institution willing to fund the dream of home ownership for many first time buyers

Sir Steve Bullock

Debbie Taylor, director of development and residential consulting at BNP Paribas Real Estate, added: “The latest figures reveal that mortgage approvals have fallen and lending restrictions remain tight. The Bank of Mum and Dad appears to be the only institution willing to fund the dream of home ownership for many first time buyers and even this is limited in the face of deepening cuts. 

 “As a result of this the private rented sector is something that remains a reality for swathes of people in their 20s and 30s with the average first time buyer aged 37. A flexible and innovative approach from local authorities will enable the private rented sector to deliver new housing to meet their needs,” she said.