IEA Editorial Director Kristian Niemietz has written for The Critic arguing that debates over issues like empty homes, foreign buyers, and social housing allocation would be far less relevant if we just allowed more homes to be built.

This came after the government announced a policy intended to give local authorities the right to require planning permission for short-term rentals.

Kristian wrote:

“There is one good — housing — which is permanently in short supply in Britain, and as a consequence, we have turned this wartime rationing sentiment into a permanent state of mind. We endlessly obsess about issues that nobody would care about if we had an adequate housing stock: are there too many second homeowners? Too many overseas buyers? Too many homeowners who leave their houses empty? Social housing tenants with a spare bedroom? Social housing tenants who could afford to move out? Too many foreigners competing with British-born people for scarce housing? 

“The government’s recently announced plans to tighten planning laws in order to curb the short-term letting sector are just another expression of the same zero-sum thinking.”

Read Kristian’s full piece here.