1. Empty properties
The United Kingdom currently has just over 600k empty properties, of these just over 200k have been unoccupied for a period of six or more months. If the government started taxing properties in relation to the amount of time they've remained unoccupied it could spur developers and homeowners to sell or rent their properties to avoid a hefty tax bill. Of course that won't stop the problem all together so the government should also be prepared to seize properties that have gone unoccupied for an extended period of time (say 1+ years) and transform them into the social and affordable housing this country needs.
2. Brownfield sites
In addition to these empty properties the UK also has thousands of unused brownfield sites scattered across the country. If the government transformed these sites (using a mixture of public and private sector cash) into affordable housing for purchase/rent it would put a significant dent into the housing situation and add to the dreadfully low-number of new homes that are being constructed each year.
3. The rental market
Another problem with the housing situation is the outrageous state of the rental market but solutions to these problems have been thought of. For example Sian Berry of the Green Party put forward the idea of establishing a renters union so that the people of London could effectively organise and collectively fight for lower rents. In addition to this policy the UK should adopt more of a German approach to the market by giving tenants secure long-term rents and looking into the possibility of establishing a variable rent control across the UK. Both of these policies would greatly empower the people and lead to lower rents for everyone across the UK.
4. The low-wage economy
Yet another problem squeezing the property market is actually the current low wage economy and while the so-called living wage might help some people it is not a comprehensive solution to the problem. In order to seriously address this and some of the wider parts of the costing of living crisis across the country the government should gradually increase the minimum wage (over a 4 year period) to £10 an hour. This would help buyers obtain mortgages and mean that renters have money left over after the cost of rent + food is removed from the budget.
5. Social Housing.
Compounding all of these issues is the reality that the current government is simply not constructing enough social housing to suit the needs of the population, and has instead decided to embrace short-term thinking by implementing another disastrous help to buy scheme that will lead to the gutting of current housing stock. The solution here is quite clear, stop the horrific help to buy scheme and instead start the construction of large numbers of efficient social homes in the brownfield sites mentioned earlier. Of course the country has varying amounts of brownfield sites suitable to residential development so it might be necessary to construct some of the properties on green belt land. In order to lessen the impact the government should also empower local authorities to reject planning proposals and work together with communities to lessen the impact construction has on nearby infrastructure and the local environment.
Of course all of these proposed policies won't be implemented unless the government changes its attitude towards housing and accepts the value of long-term investment over short-term profits (an unlikely reform given the recent sell-off of public assets.) So in conclusion it is within the power of the government to solve or at least tackle the ongoing housing crisis but only if it abandons toxic short-term thinking and embraces the benefits of long-term planning and that can only be achieved by pressuring politicians to change policy or removing them via the ballot box.
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