Understand
Analysis of Conservative plan to reduce new home costs by £50,000
Overview
Conservative shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith claims a future Conservative government could reduce the cost of building new homes in England and Wales by up to £50,000 by cutting regulations such as the Future Homes Standard, Section 106, and the Community Infrastructure Levy. While housing and construction industry estimates indicate regulations have significantly increased building costs, experts warn that scrapping these rules could lead to higher government spending on infrastructure, increased public costs for schools and roads, and higher long-term household energy bills.
Key points
- Conservative shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith stated that cutting regulations would take £50,000 off the cost of building a new home.
- The £50,000 figure is based on housebuilding industry estimates of the costs associated with new regulations and taxes.
- Targeted regulations include the Community Infrastructure Levy, Section 106 requirements, and the Future Homes Standard.
- The Home Builders Federation estimates that regulations, taxes, and inflation since 2020 have increased individual home-building costs significantly.
- Construction and housing experts warn that removing developer-funded infrastructure contributions could force the government to spend more on schools and roads.
- Analysts also caution that removing environmental standards like heat pump requirements could result in higher future household energy bills.