The Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association has joined the chorus of those wanting continuity in the government department, following the appointment of another new housing minister.
Kit Malthouse this week replaced Dominic Raab as the UK’s housing minister, becoming the 16th individual in the position in 17 years.
Pointing to research in the association’s White Paper, The New ‘Normal’ – prospects for 2018, IMLA executive director Kate Davies (pictured) says, “the average homeowner is moving just once in more than 19 years… this means the role of housing minister changes hands more than 20 times faster than the average UK home.”
The White Paper also bemoans the fact that despite an on-going mortgage recovery, “the UK mortgage market is failing to deliver for young families in the way that it did for previous generations,” a theme Davies returns to when responding to Malthouse’s appointment.
She says: “The new housing minister comes into the role at a time when the government has a huge task to tackle in solving the housing crisis. The chronic shortage of housebuilding and the need for a joined-up policy across all housing tenures are recurring challenges that have faced every new housing minister for longer than most people care to remember.
“Now more than ever we need stability. Unfortunately, the British public have not been afforded the continuity our ailing housing market so sorely needs,” she continues.
However, Davies does strike a positive note too saying: “The time has come to deliver on the proposals set out in February 2017 in the Government’s paper Fixing out Broken Housing Market.
“We look forward to working with Kit Malthouse and hope he enjoys a long tenure in his crucial role.”
