Rayner resigns: Government urged to get on top of housing

A senior agent has led calls for politicians to get its property policy in order after Housing Secretary Angela Rayner resigned last week.

Rayner stepped down from her housing and Deputy Prime Minister role after admitting that she had received incorrect advice that meant she had underpaid Stamp Duty on a property purchase.

It comes as she was leading key Government policies on planning reforms and renter rights.

Greg Tsuman, managing director for lettings at Martyn Gerrard Estate Agents, said:

“Now we’ve lost both the Homelessness Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary amid housing-related scandals, and the message couldn’t be clearer: the Government must get its housing policy in order – or risk running out of ministers to resign before they manage to fix the housing market.

“Rather than pushing simplistic narratives that demonise landlords for the affordability crisis in the private rented sector, politicians need to get their own house in order and acknowledge their role in creating the pressures driving up rents and reducing supply. With the Renters’ Rights Bill up for discussion, I think it’s likely that all the amendments made by the House of Lords to inject common sense into the Bill are rejected, leaving legislation that fails to empower tenants and instead forces landlords into defensive pricing, ultimately harming affordability and choice for everyone.

“Let’s not be distracted by political reshuffles – the core issues remain unchanged. Legislative and tax pressures on landlords are rising, not easing, and these added costs inevitably make life harder for tenants. Every new expense in the system gets passed on as higher rents.

“It’s contradictory to blame landlords while simultaneously implementing policies that push rents up. The solution is clear: streamline regulations, lower the tax burden, and promote stability so landlords can offer homes without constantly passing on increasing costs. To make renting fairer and more affordable, we need less political posturing and more practical, effective reform.”

Colin Brown, head of planning and development at Carter Jonas, said:

“I think the industry will want to know that the changes the Government has made to the planning system will remain the focus for the incoming Secretary of State, and that there will be no rowing back. There is no doubt that publication of the revised NPPF in December 2024 and the introduction of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill have been important moments, pointing to a clear change in direction to build the homes the country needs.

“The resignation letter from the former Secretary of State and the response from the Prime Minister indicate this is still central to the Government’s thinking so reassurance can be derived from that.  What we would still like to see is the use of more tools to support the demand side for new housing especially with affordability remaining challenging and we hope the new Secretary of State will focus on that, together with continuing better resourcing for local planning authorities.

“Finally, there is a need to ensure that infrastructure provision to support new housing is tackled earlier and at a more regional and national level to ensure that projects are not unnecessarily delayed.”

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