Monday 15 April 2019
Reacting to this morning’s Government announcement regarding changes to the private rental sector, David Frost, Chief Executive of London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said:
“Not surprisingly, London businesses often tell us that the lives of their staff are made hugely more difficult by the fact that London housing is so expensive and often hard to obtain. Indeed, it can often lead to staff leaving the capital.
The worry is that the Government’s proposal this morning, by creating open-ended tenancies, will simply discourage property owners from entering the rental market at all. In the long run this will reduce supply, make housing more, not less, expensive, and increase not reduce homelessness levels.
So the detail of the proposed changes to section 8 of the Housing Act will be very important and we at LCCI will study them closely. We will want to be sure that they do not gum up the London housing market even further, forcing London’s workers into even longer and more expensive commutes.”
ENDS
Media contact
Steven Reilly-Hii
T: +44 (0)207 203 1897
M: +44 (0)7827 241528
E: sreilly-hii@londonchamber.co.uk
NOTES TO EDITOR:
- London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) is the capital’s most representative business organisation, with members ranging in size from multi-national companies to SMEs and sole traders. David Frost is available for interview and further comment.