The Montague Report was commissioned by the government to investigate ways of tackling the current shortage of housing, particularly rented homes. One of the solutions the report has come up with is to introduce private funding from institutional investors to enable construction of large rental housing schemes to go ahead, something that is common in many other European countries.
At the moment, the majority of the buy to let rental sector is owned and run by scores of private landlords. But although the buy to let market is thriving, demand for rental housing is far outstripping the number of available properties in popular areas of the UK, which is why the Montague Report has highlighted the need for a more flexible approach to new build housing.
The National Landlords Association (NLA) has responded to the publication of the report with a statement saying:
“The NLA welcomes Sir Adrian Montague’s recommendation to increase investment in the private-rented sector and the Government’s recognition of the important role played by private landlords. At present, we are simply not building enough new homes to meet the demand. The genuine interest from institutional investors in building to rent is the fastest way to make a significant impact on the shortage of housing.”
The Housing Minister, Grant Shapps, has described the idea of private investment funding new rental housing as “interesting” when asked by the BBC for his comments, but Labour remains somewhat critical of the Montague Report’s suggestions, as it feels low income households might not be catered for in large for-profit build to let housing developments.
