Housing policies supported by Propertymark

October 14, 2026 by Brendan O'Neill

House building

Propertymark has signalled its support for a number of housing market policies proposed by shadow housing secretary Katie Lam.

Lam used her speech at the Conservative Party Conference to put forward a number of policies designed to reform the planning system and increase housing supply. She argued that new build houses should be reduced in price by as much as £50,000 in some cases. She also stated that the Future Homes Standard should be abolished.

Other policy proposals put forward during the speech included getting rid of Stamp Duty; axing the Community Infrastructure Levy and Section 106, to be replaced by one tax; and cutting planning and other regulations that restrict house building.

Now the policy and campaigns head at Propertymark has responded with approval. According to Mortgage Strategy, Timothy Douglas said that the company was delighted by the focus of the speech. He then went on to say:

“Our members see first-hand how delays, complexity and uncertainty in the planning system can add costs and hold back development, so measures to make planning faster and more proportionate, particularly for smaller housebuilders, are welcome.”

Douglas expressed enthusiasm for the idea of taking Stamp Duty out of the equation. He argued that this would lead to more people moving by lowering the cost of doing so.

However, he tempered all this positivity with caution about eliminating the Future Homes Standard. Douglas suggested that this was a policy that needed careful thought.

Mortgage advisors who have done CeMAP courses will mostly approve too, as increasing the housing supply is a critical issue.