Housing sector regulation freeze urged for three years

A housing sector regulation freeze of three years is the central demand of a new report from the Prosper UK Housing Commission, which says new rules on developers should stop while the market recovers. The commission, chaired by former housing minister Gavin Barwell, published Solving the Housing Crisis: A Plan to Make Homes More Affordable in Every Postcode on Monday. It arrives as other bodies, including London Councils, press their own housing cases ahead of the Autumn Budget.

What is being proposed and when

The commission is calling for a freeze on new regulatory burdens for at least three years. According to Place North West, the hope is that a more certain regulatory environment will increase market confidence. The report also proposes a two-part test for every obligation placed on new housing: whether the cost belongs on new homes, and whether it is proportionate.

The commission wants section 106 limited to what a development itself needs. Today’s Conveyancer cited The Times as reporting that the developer of a 485-home scheme in West Suffolk was asked to pay for swimming lanes and 98 "fitness stations" across the whole district.

No start date for a freeze is given in the coverage we have seen, and nothing indicates it has been accepted by ministers. Barwell said that even before publication the government had adopted one of the commission’s recommendations and the Conservatives had said they would implement another. Place North West identifies these as Labour’s Your First Home initiative and the Conservatives’ promise to reform the section 106 system.

The numbers behind the housing regulation freeze

Prosper says the cost of building a single home has risen by £76,000 since 2020. Half of that, it says, stems from regulation, policy and tax. Today’s Conveyancer reports that the commission links this to flat house prices, which have left many schemes with planning permission no longer viable, and to weaker buyer confidence.

To show what that means in practice, take the 485-home West Suffolk scheme. Half of £76,000 is £38,000 per home, so if that average applied, regulation, policy and tax would account for about £18.4 million across the scheme. That is our arithmetic, not a figure from the commission, and real schemes will differ.

Who is affected

Developers would be the most direct beneficiaries, since the freeze targets their costs. Buyers are affected too. The commission wants a temporary, strictly targeted shared equity scheme for first-time buyers of new, energy-efficient homes, capped at around a fifth of sales on each site and funded by an industry access fee.

Renters and build-to-rent investors feature as well. The commission wants stamp duty cut on build-to-rent developments, a standard national template for their section 106 agreements, and rent controls ruled out in law. It also proposes a National Planning Service to decide major applications and a national review of the Green Belt.

Councils are part of the picture. London Councils, in its submission to the Autumn Budget, says boroughs want to lead the largest council housing programme since the post-war period and are asking for more grant funding. It also forecasts a cumulative budget shortfall of £5.2 billion for London boroughs between 2026-27 and 2029-30, up from the £4.7 billion it identified in October 2025.

What supporters and critics say

Barwell has stressed that the package is meant to be taken as a whole. "Our recommendations are not ‘pick n mix’," he said. "Boosting demand without increasing supply will help a few people at the expense of everyone else, and tackling viability without tackling demand will make little difference."

Other commission members back the plan. Richard Cook of Clarion Housing Group said it will make a "significant difference in meeting the challenge", while Jackie Sadek said the issue is "grossly hobbling our economy and selling our young people short". Barwell said the government is "falling far short" of its ambition to build 1.5 million homes in five years.

The coverage we have seen quotes no direct critics of the freeze. Barwell himself acknowledged that "some of what we recommend won’t be popular". London Councils takes a different emphasis, arguing for more grant funding and fiscal tools, and Chair Cllr Stephen Cowan called the Budget "an opportunity to help stabilise town hall finances". Councils that rely on section 106 contributions may weigh a freeze differently, though the sources do not say so.

What to do now

Nothing changes for buyers or developers yet, because the report is a set of recommendations rather than policy. The practical step is to watch the Autumn Budget for any response on regulation, section 106 or help for first-time buyers.

If you live near a planned development, check your council’s planning portal for the scheme’s section 106 agreement. It sets out what the developer has agreed to pay for locally, and that is the area the commission wants to narrow. If you are a first-time buyer considering a new-build, ask the developer which support schemes apply to that site, and treat shared equity proposals as proposals until confirmed.

Developers and landowners with schemes stalled on viability may want to record how regulatory costs affect their appraisals. That evidence is likely to matter if ministers consider the three-year freeze.