The nation’s letting agents, landlords and big property corporates have written to the Chancellor to warn her that unless more rental homes are built her recent promise to ‘attract the best talent to the UK’ and boost economic growth will fail.

The Chief Executives of the National Residential Landlords Association, Propertymark and the British Property Federation have warned that unless Labour takes urgent action to boost the supply of homes to rent, talented foreigners hoping to work here will be unable to find somewhere to live.

Estate agency Savills recently echoed the trio’s arguments, highlighting how the UK requires an extra one million private rented homes by 2031 just to keep up with demand.

Foreign-born

According to Oxford University’s Migration Observatory, 42 per cent of the foreign-born people in the UK live in the private rented sector, compared to 16 per cent of those born in the UK.

The joint letter also says the three trade organisations are worried that housing supply will be further reduced by the Chancellor’s recent decision to raise stamp duty by 1% for landlords, something the Institute for Fiscal Studies has warned will lead to “fewer properties” being made available.

“We support the Government’s ambition to grow the economy and welcome international expertise to the UK. However, policy needs to back up the rhetoric,” Melanie Leach, Ben Beadle and Nathan Emerson add.

“Without substantial support to boost the supply of new, high-quality homes to rent, the Chancellor’s efforts to attract global talent will fail.

“We urge the Government to engage with the sector to develop forward-thinking policies that provide the homes to rent the country desperately needs.”