Consultation Responses

Earlier this year, we submitted evidence to the House of Lords Built Environment Committee, highlighting the challenges high streets face in repurposing underused properties. Key obstacles include high conversion costs, structural constraints and issues with our planning system. Tackling these requires reforms in business rates, streamlined planning and strong local partnerships to drive revitalisation.

We have responded to the Government’s Invest 2035 consultation, highlighting the vital role of the property sector in supporting high-growth industries. While we welcome the focus on subsectors, we emphasised the need for strategic planning, improved infrastructure and addressing barriers such as planning delays. We also stressed the property sector’s contribution to economic productivity and its potential to drive sustainable innovation.

The Government is considering what form brownfield passports might take as it seeks to support more brownfield development. This represents the BPF’s response to a discussion paper issued at the end of September 2024.

The BPF strongly welcomes the consultation proposals to put development activity at the heart of the Government’s growth agenda and achieve a step change in housing delivery. We suggest ways in which the positive multi-tenure approach to housing can be improved further as well as setting out how the promising proposals for planning for employment can be even more impactful to deliver more economic growth and jobs.

We welcomed Government’s consultation to consider the most appropriate treatment of carried interest returns. We took the opportunity to set out the important role that PERE (Private Equity Rela Estate) investors play in the real estate investment life cycle. We also welcomed Government’s recognition that the asset management sector plays a vital role at channelling investment across the UK and boosting economic growth – to that end, it is sensible for Government to consider the competitiveness of the UK in considering future tax changes.

We have responded to a HM Treasury consultation on improving the effectiveness of the Money Laundering Regulations. In our response, we raise awareness of a number of practical challenges that businesses have in applying the regulations, and suggested some options to remove ambiguity and streamline the process to reduce the administrative burden on businesses.

We have responded to the Government’s consultation on locally-led development corporations. We support the locally-led model, and welcome the increased flexibility that this model can provide. We have, however, highlighted the need to ensure that corporations have the right powers if they are to be truly effective and note that there is huge insight and experience on development corporations within the BPF membership.

We raised concerns over the impact that removing certain LTT reliefs (including multiple dwellings relief (MDR) and the ‘6 or more’ commercial treatment for transactions of 6 or more dwellings) could have on the Build to Rent and Purpose Build Student Accommodation markets. These tax treatments are critical for supporting investment rental homes and ensuring that Wales’ transaction taxes are competitive compared to other jurisdictions.

We strongly support Government’s overall aspiration to accelerate the planning process for commercial development to drive economic growth and create jobs. Our response provides constructive comments on how the measures proposed in the consultation could be improved as well as suggestions on how the wider planning consenting regime could also be accelerated.

The BPF response to the DLUHC consultation on introducing a competence and conduct standard into the social housing sector.

Our short response to the 2023 consultation on the Future Homes and Buildings Standards. This draws on our response to the 2021 consultation, which you can find here.

The BPF's response to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities' consultation on strengthening planning policy for brownfield development.