Anna Clarke
@annaclarke.bsky.social
Policy and Public Affairs at The Housing Forum. Interested in UK housing policy, planning, economics, housebuilding, energy, social policy. Views are my own. Cambridge based. https://housingforum.org.uk/
Did visit Skye many years ago and remember seeing the ruins of abandoned villages (you see them other places in Scotland too). It's hard to say whether had that not happened those villages would have survived and prospered though. Could just have been a slower decline via emigration away to cities.
February 19, 2026 at 1:52 PM
Did visit Skye many years ago and remember seeing the ruins of abandoned villages (you see them other places in Scotland too). It's hard to say whether had that not happened those villages would have survived and prospered though. Could just have been a slower decline via emigration away to cities.
There is an argument for restricting housebuilding in places like Easington, to encourage people to buy and do up the existing homes instead. Though I can also see the counterargument that you need some nicer/larger houses in the area, or you'll never make them places people want to live.
February 19, 2026 at 10:29 AM
There is an argument for restricting housebuilding in places like Easington, to encourage people to buy and do up the existing homes instead. Though I can also see the counterargument that you need some nicer/larger houses in the area, or you'll never make them places people want to live.
It's both. In places with stronger housing markets people buy up housing no different from the terraces of Easington and spend money on improving it.
February 19, 2026 at 10:27 AM
It's both. In places with stronger housing markets people buy up housing no different from the terraces of Easington and spend money on improving it.
Maybe. But that wouldn't tell you about numbers of 3+adult households, nor children.
February 19, 2026 at 10:23 AM
Maybe. But that wouldn't tell you about numbers of 3+adult households, nor children.
No, because that only had households not people
February 18, 2026 at 6:50 PM
No, because that only had households not people
It may well be falling - as the population ages there are more pensioner households with only 1-2 people each. If we're not building new homes (and also seem to like cracking down on HMOs) we're very likely to be seeing depopulation. People will move further out, where we are still building homes.
February 18, 2026 at 6:49 PM
It may well be falling - as the population ages there are more pensioner households with only 1-2 people each. If we're not building new homes (and also seem to like cracking down on HMOs) we're very likely to be seeing depopulation. People will move further out, where we are still building homes.
I think the argument would be more around investment that's specific to deprived communities to regenerate them - community centres, grants to bring empty homes back into use, etc. Not taking away basic benefits from people who may have no immediate alternative.
February 18, 2026 at 6:36 PM
I think the argument would be more around investment that's specific to deprived communities to regenerate them - community centres, grants to bring empty homes back into use, etc. Not taking away basic benefits from people who may have no immediate alternative.
The housebuilders who make the most money are generally the ones who build the most homes. The impact of any one housebuilder's activities on overall house prices is infinitesimal. Doubling their output (via twice as many sites) would mean (virtually) twice the profit.
February 18, 2026 at 6:01 PM
The housebuilders who make the most money are generally the ones who build the most homes. The impact of any one housebuilder's activities on overall house prices is infinitesimal. Doubling their output (via twice as many sites) would mean (virtually) twice the profit.
They're controlling the price of the new homes they sell (up to market rates - ie whatever buyers will pay). They're not controlling the price of the market overall - which is always comprised mainly of secondhand homes.
February 18, 2026 at 5:48 PM
They're controlling the price of the new homes they sell (up to market rates - ie whatever buyers will pay). They're not controlling the price of the market overall - which is always comprised mainly of secondhand homes.
Developers drip feed the market of homes for sale of one specific house type on one specific site (so as to ensure prices hold up). But this does not cause the overall under-supply of housing - as long as you allow many sites/tenures/types to be building out at once.
February 18, 2026 at 5:05 PM
Developers drip feed the market of homes for sale of one specific house type on one specific site (so as to ensure prices hold up). But this does not cause the overall under-supply of housing - as long as you allow many sites/tenures/types to be building out at once.
I'm not sure "what people want" is either consistent or doable. It is indeed "bring back jobs" or even less tangible "bring back the sense of community I had as a child". We've not been short of community consultation or research in places like this.
February 18, 2026 at 12:59 PM
I'm not sure "what people want" is either consistent or doable. It is indeed "bring back jobs" or even less tangible "bring back the sense of community I had as a child". We've not been short of community consultation or research in places like this.
That's interesting - whenabouts are you talking about?
February 18, 2026 at 12:55 PM
That's interesting - whenabouts are you talking about?
The regulations on the PRS are somewhat different - there are definitely concerns that landlords may sell up. Personally I'm not so worried about the RRA (think they'd have done so by now if they were going to) but do think the EPC C requirements may push some to sell up.
February 17, 2026 at 1:51 PM
The regulations on the PRS are somewhat different - there are definitely concerns that landlords may sell up. Personally I'm not so worried about the RRA (think they'd have done so by now if they were going to) but do think the EPC C requirements may push some to sell up.
Originally, yes. But then central government made a deal with councils that the councils got to keep the rental income in return for taking on their share of the 'historic housing debt' (ie what government would theoretically have borrowed to build it). All got pretty complex.
February 17, 2026 at 1:29 PM
Originally, yes. But then central government made a deal with councils that the councils got to keep the rental income in return for taking on their share of the 'historic housing debt' (ie what government would theoretically have borrowed to build it). All got pretty complex.
It's obviously completely unworkable in a UK context if you stop to think about it. Plenty of roads that don't even have pavements in many villages, let alone pedestrian crossings.
February 16, 2026 at 6:58 PM
It's obviously completely unworkable in a UK context if you stop to think about it. Plenty of roads that don't even have pavements in many villages, let alone pedestrian crossings.
Are they drivers who never walk anywhere maybe? But people are consistently weird in polls in declaring support for all sorts of draconian state control over our lives - eg saying they supported lockdown style restrictions forever.
February 16, 2026 at 6:51 PM
Are they drivers who never walk anywhere maybe? But people are consistently weird in polls in declaring support for all sorts of draconian state control over our lives - eg saying they supported lockdown style restrictions forever.
Doesn't work so well as a woman.
February 16, 2026 at 6:43 PM
Doesn't work so well as a woman.
(There's also a more complex financial argument to be made about borrowing against the value of existing stock on which the original borrowing has been paid off to build new homes - which will eventually deliver savings - and it making sense to charge rents fairly across the whole portfolio)
February 16, 2026 at 4:35 PM
(There's also a more complex financial argument to be made about borrowing against the value of existing stock on which the original borrowing has been paid off to build new homes - which will eventually deliver savings - and it making sense to charge rents fairly across the whole portfolio)
It's a reasonable question. I guess I'd answer that it reduces the unfairness between social tenants who are paying quite low rents, and private tenants who would prefer to be social tenants and will go on paying higher rents until we build more social housing.
February 16, 2026 at 4:33 PM
It's a reasonable question. I guess I'd answer that it reduces the unfairness between social tenants who are paying quite low rents, and private tenants who would prefer to be social tenants and will go on paying higher rents until we build more social housing.
Yes, I think it's widely acknowledged that - with hindsight at least - they should have been spending more on maintenance, particularly of flatted stock. A "stich in time" mentality could have helped reduce overall expenditure.
February 16, 2026 at 1:40 PM
Yes, I think it's widely acknowledged that - with hindsight at least - they should have been spending more on maintenance, particularly of flatted stock. A "stich in time" mentality could have helped reduce overall expenditure.
Yes, London-based landlords have been particularly hard hit - mainly because flats are proving a lot more expensive to manage and repair than houses.
February 16, 2026 at 1:38 PM
Yes, London-based landlords have been particularly hard hit - mainly because flats are proving a lot more expensive to manage and repair than houses.
I did just mention it Tom (In a sub-post that possibly wasn't yet there when you posted this)
February 16, 2026 at 1:16 PM
I did just mention it Tom (In a sub-post that possibly wasn't yet there when you posted this)
In the last 5 years spending on repairs rose by 42% *in real terms*. This is a massive increase in spending, which was not generally foreseen. Coupled with higher interest rates on any borrowing, and it's not hard to see why housing associations and councils are struggling.
February 16, 2026 at 1:15 PM
In the last 5 years spending on repairs rose by 42% *in real terms*. This is a massive increase in spending, which was not generally foreseen. Coupled with higher interest rates on any borrowing, and it's not hard to see why housing associations and councils are struggling.
Spending is likely to increase further in the next few years - as social landlords implement Awaab's law (requiring faster responses to a range of repair issues where health is at risk), and as they try to reach an EPC C rating across all their homes.
February 16, 2026 at 1:14 PM
Spending is likely to increase further in the next few years - as social landlords implement Awaab's law (requiring faster responses to a range of repair issues where health is at risk), and as they try to reach an EPC C rating across all their homes.
Underlying these issues are an aging housing stock, and rising expectations of quality, safety and energy efficiency, with a historic under-investment creating a need to spend more now. In some areas, overcrowding puts further pressure on the housing stock.
February 16, 2026 at 1:12 PM
Underlying these issues are an aging housing stock, and rising expectations of quality, safety and energy efficiency, with a historic under-investment creating a need to spend more now. In some areas, overcrowding puts further pressure on the housing stock.