Housing: the challenge for policy

In this article, Kate Barker, Chief Economic Advisor to the CBI, argues that housing market policies need to adapt to reflect the changing nature of the UK economy. In a flexible labour market with more job insecurity, a stronger rented sector is likely to be needed. But while policies have recently shifted away from supporting owner‐occupation ‐ in particular by reducing mortgage tax relief ‐ there has been a lack of a coherent approach to encouraging affective forms of tenure. The article discusses a number of different policies which meet the two objectives of stimulating a stronger supply of rented housing, while reducing the volatility of the owner‐occupied sector.