Construction Industry Appeals To Government To Reduce Price Of Building Houses

Construction industry appeals to government to reduce price of building houses

The Construction Industry Federation is warning the government it must help reduce the cost of building a house if it wants to meet its housing targets. The Housing Agency is publishing its first report on supply and demand today, which is expected to call for the construction of 21,000 houses each year for the next three years. It is hoped the National Statement of Housing Supply and Demand report will be used by developers and local authorities as resource in meeting housing demand. CEO of the Construction Industry Federation, Tom Parlon, says if the government wants to meet the targets set in the report it needs to address costs in the sector. "We have development levies here that you have to pay to your local authority, and we also have a part 5 contribution where the construction industry - and I suppose it's really down to the first time buyer - has to foot the bill in the end, has to make a contribution to social housing" he said. "So they all add to the costs and all of those are part of our pre-budget submission". "Clearly if the government want to double, as they've said, in Construction 2020, they certainly have the means at the disposal to take away some of the obstacles" he added.