As Chancellor Rachel Reeves prepares to deliver her first Autumn Budget, one of the property sector’s leading voices has called for urgent action to end the uncertainty paralysing the housing market and to lay the foundations for long-term growth.
In a letter sent this week, Daniel Austin (main picture), Chief Executive and Co-founder of real estate lender ASK Partners, urged Reeves to resist piecemeal measures and instead provide clarity on property taxation, unblock the planning system and support both SME housebuilders and institutional investors.
Austin warned that speculation around major tax reforms – including extending National Insurance to landlords’ rental income, scrapping stamp duty in favour of an annual property levy, or tightening capital gains tax exemptions – is already influencing investor behaviour.
“Rumours alone are paralysing activity,” he wrote. “Extending NI could raise £3bn annually but drive small landlords from the market, worsening supply. Abolishing stamp duty would ease mobility but create an £11bn revenue gap. Each carries fiscal potential but also serious risks.”
CLEAR, CREDIBLE FRAMEWORK
While recent data has shown a modest uptick in mortgage approvals and house prices, Austin said confidence would not return until investors and developers were given predictability. “Housing has historically led the economy out of downturns,” he argued. “The sector can do so again if given a clear, credible framework.”
At the heart of Austin’s proposals is a push to increase housing delivery well beyond Labour’s 300,000 homes a year target, which no government has ever met.
Research from Capital Economics suggests 385,000 are required annually to keep pace with demand.
He pointed out that since 1970 France has built nearly twice as many homes as the UK despite comparable population growth. “This imbalance demands radical but credible reform, not short-term fixes,” he said.
POLICY PRIORITIES
Clarity on tax reform: Any changes to NI, CGT or stamp duty must be phased and predictable, and tied to supply-side incentives rather than solely revenue raising.
SME housebuilder revival: Smaller developers accounted for 40% of delivery before the financial crisis but just 15% today. Allocating small land plots, granting automatic planning on brownfield sites under 2.5 hectares, and offering equity support could reverse that trend.
Planning reform: Independent decision-making and private sector support to clear local authority backlogs are “an economic necessity”, Austin said.
Construction skills: Labour shortages remain acute post-Brexit. Greater support for off-site construction could speed delivery and attract younger and more diverse talent.
Social housing: The net loss of 200,000 homes in the past decade has deepened the affordability crisis. Reforming compulsory purchase rules — particularly around “hope value” — would enable councils to deliver at scale.
Incentives for brownfield and conversions: Automatic planning consent for ESG-compliant brownfield regeneration would unlock sites quickly and reduce environmental impact.
Investment incentives: ASK’s research shows 91% of private investors plan to maintain allocations to real estate, with particular appetite for logistics, data centres and later-life housing. “The capital is there, but investors feel let down by the lack of incentives,” Austin noted.
FRAGILE MOMENT
The call comes as Labour faces competing pressures: to raise revenue, to deliver on growth, and to demonstrate progress on housing supply without fuelling inflation or widening the deficit.
Austin’s intervention reflects a growing industry view that confidence, rather than capital, is the missing ingredient.
“The sector is ready to deliver if given a clear framework,” he concluded. “2026 could be the year housing once again drives the UK economy forward – but only if the government makes the right calls in October.”
