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In the first three months of this year, the number of new houses given to planning approval in England in England was the lowest figure for 13 years, according to the new research, which outlines the challenges faced by the Sir Kire Stmper’s government as it wants to promote the homeowner.
According to the new data produced for the Home Builders Federation, only 39,170 new homes fell in England by only 55 percent in the first quarter of 2025 and a decline of 32 percent less than the same period last year.
The HBF data pretends official figures due to the later published in the year.
HBF CEO Neil Jefferson said that the ambition of the government to increase industry and new housing supply was “destructive” for both the government.
He said, “In the next few years, we have little possibility of building houses that we know that we are in a strict need,” said, “with current supply flatline and permissions, until immediate intervention is made,” he said.
Jefferson said that ministers should address the absence of affordable mortgage loans and absence for the first time in the decades of any government assistance scheme for buyers “.
Starmer has built 1.5MN new houses in England during this five-year Parliament, one of their major vows-equal to 300,000 new houses in a year.
But HBF data suggests that the rolling annual figure for detailed planning approval housing units was 225,067 in the year by the end of March, a 7 percent decline in the last 12 months period.
This is the lowest annual figure since 2012 and is below the high level of 335,802 hits in early 2021.
However, Labor has hoped that this scheme can promote growth through various reforms in the system.
Last year, the government re -written the “National Planning Policy structure” to re -explain the housing goals on the councils and is currently carrying forward a plan and infrastructure bill through Parliament.
HBF’s Jefferson asked the government to take action to encourage more demand for new housing, including equity loan or shared equity mortgage support and reducing requirements for property developers such as school, GP surgery and roads required for their projects to manufacture public infrastructure.
He also warned that Housebuilders were struggling under various taxes and levies launched in recent years, including a residential property developers tax, nutrient neutrality fees and “standards of future houses”, which would force the builders to add solar panels.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyor, Industry Body, said that the lack of resources in local planning officers and capacity challenges for utility providers were “creating friction in the system”.
“The major component for the industry is clarity,” said Justin Young, Chief Executive of RICS. “Improvement in the National Planning Policy structure is still in bed in the region, and uncertainty is part of the reason for the recession.”
The British Property Federation, which has some members in the residential housing area, said that due to shortage of employees, the building security regulator was getting “significant” interruptions.
“These figures are not surprising for us,” said BPF Director Rachel Kelly. “Applications that should take 8 to 12 weeks, take 24 weeks, and even to finally finalize, the delay in the regulator is the biggest obstacle at this time.”
Matthew Spri, Senior Director of Planning and Development Consultancy Litchfields, said the industry has welcomed the planning reforms of the government.
“But to move dial over delivery, those applications require rapid determination by local planning officers: the government will need to implement the current plan and infrastructure bill rapidly.”
The Ministry of Housing, communities and local government spokespersons said: “We know the 1.5MN house is a stretching target, but we are taking decisive action through our plan through our plan to speed up every phase of planning process and distribute homes and infrastructure.”
