MortgagesOct 7 2015

Prime minister tackles ‘unfinished business’ with lenders

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Prime minister tackles ‘unfinished business’ with lenders

Prime minister David Cameron announced he will change housing policy so developers must build homes for purchase not rent.

Speaking at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester today (7 October), the prime minister said the phrase “affordable housing” had become deceptive and had come to means abodes that were only available for rent.

He said: “What people want are homes they can actually own.

“If you have worked hard and saved I don’t just want you to have a roof over your head. I want you to have a roof you own.

“When a generation of hardworking men and women in their 20s and 30s who are waking up each morning in their childhood bedrooms, that should be a wake-up call for us.

“We need a national crusade to get houses built. That means banks lending, government releasing land and, yes, planning being reformed.”

In all these things, Mr Cameron said he would work with a Conservative London mayor candidate to get these things done. In the key reform, developers will have fulfilled their obligations to a council if they build homes for purchase.

Amid banners stating “A Budget Surplus” and “Increasing the state pension”, he also turned to the subject of Europe.

Mr Cameron said he has no romantic attachment to the EU and argued he would fight hard for a better deal. He pointed out Britain was told the EU was about going into a common market, and stated Britain is not interested in ever closer union “and I will put that right”

Mr Cameron’s speech came after this morning the FCA called for the industry to comment on whether the Mortgage Market Review had hampered competition.

The regulator is interested in the range of factors that might affect competition in the provision of loans secured against a property, whether regulated or unregulated, including as a result of changes introduced following the Mortgage Market Review.

Firms’ conduct and relationships, consumers’ ability to access, assess and act on information about mortgage products and services will also be explored.

Christopher Woolard, director of strategy and competition at the FCA, said: “Competition can play a key role in ensuring that the sector works well, delivering consumer benefits through lower prices, better customer service, and more product choice.

“These views, together with evidence from the FCA’s wider programme of work on mortgages, will help inform any future FCA work on this key sector of the economy, including any future competition market study.”

emma.hughes@ft.com