PHI - Bridging the Gaps: Why Reeves’ Spending Review is a Moment for Optimism

By Ben Moser, Managing Director, Petermans Housing Initiative

 

Rachel Reeves’ Spending Review was announced in the House of Commons on Wednesday – and actually, for my part, as Managing Director of Petermans Housing Initiative (PHI), it was something I was watching enthusiastically and optimistically.

Over the past few days and weeks – as seems par for the course before these type of events – we saw a number of leaks about what would be announced in the review, and it  had felt increasingly likely that we were going to see significant support announced for the social and affordable housing sector.

As far as these things go, without wishing to make any political points, I can’t say I was left disappointed on the day itself.

It is natural to wish things might have gone further (whilst acknowledging the need to balance any wish for such things with pragmatic questions about how they will be funded), but in general terms, the commitment to deliver £39 billion in government funding for the sector over the next decade is a bold step. The previous annual allocation hovered around £2.3 billion per year, so it means an uplift of over £1.5 billion a year on average.

This is not a party political broadcast, by any means. I am not a Rachel Reeves sycophant or a Labour Party loyalist – I believe in scrutinising power, whichever colour it wears – but I do absolutely welcome this commitment.

We have a chronic social and affordable housing issue in London, and indeed across the country as a whole. It goes without saying that we need to see more detail, but in broad stroke terms it seems a clear move in the right direction. If we are to have any hope of addressing our manifestly alarming housing shortage, then swelling the stock of quality, affordable homes must be front and centre.

 

Helping the ‘Missing Middle’

Petermans Housing Initiatives is the social and affordable housing arm of our 60 year old family-run business, Petermans Estate Agents. PHI was born out of a simple yet stark realisation: there is a growing group of people who fall through the cracks between the social housing and private rental sectors. People who earn too much to qualify for traditional social housing, but yet not enough to cope with the escalating costs of private rents. We call it the “missing middle” – and it is growing.

In short, we simply see it as a moral failure of our housing system that we have not yet built effective bridges to support them. These are people who work and pay tax and who contribute meaningfully in a fiscal way to our national treasury and to our local communities – but who nevertheless lack the support that allows them to easily, comfortably do so.

That is the gap we aim to bridge. Petermans Housing Initiative began as a way to connect open-minded and willing private landlords with vetted tenants who would otherwise struggle to access stable housing. We have worked hard and tirelessly to develop a range of innovative tools and functions – such as our tenant guarantor service – to give landlords the security they need to say ‘yes’, and to be able offer tenants the dignity of a safe, secure home.

We work in partnership with charities, local authorities and housing associations, building a joined-up approach that serves people first.

 

Tackling a Housing Crisis Through Build-To-Rent

That being said, in recent months – and the reason that this Spending Review allocation to the sector is potentially so exciting – is that we have begun to push further still, by actively exploring ‘build-to-rent’ (BTR) as a means to achieve our end goal.

We believe that BTR as a mechanism offers a powerful way to satisfy a significant portion of our overall housing need, delivering housing that is purpose-built and fit-for-purpose, designed around the needs of the people we speak to day in, day out – the needs of those people we aim to serve.

For us it is a proactive step that moves us from simply facilitating access, to becoming active participants in the project to deliver quality homes for Londoners.

With Petermans’ 60 years plus of property management experience behind us, we feel we are almost uniquely placed to offer a full 360-degree service – from identifying suitable sites, to designing accommodation that works for the end users, to working with developers who are aligned with our social vision, to ultimately placing suitable tenants and managing their tenancies in a way that means sympathetic, long-term stewardship.

That is why this Spending Review matters so much. The pledges unveiled on Wednesday really give us hope; not simply because of the funding promise itself, but more importantly due to the deeper signals I am hearing – a genuine will to do things differently.

More to be Done

Of course, welcome as it all feels, it is certainly not the whole solution. Extra funding is always appreciated, but it does come with trade-offs. Increased public borrowing will need to be paid for somehow, and that normally comes from taxes – something we will likely feel in the Autumn Budget.

We also need to guard against complacency: these funding pledges are a first step, but what matters is how those promises to translate into action. The housing crisis we face in London is too serious to leave to chance. We need clear timelines, streamlined planning processes, and to form strong partnerships between public, private, and third-sector actors. On top of that, and something that I feel passionate about improving, is that we desperately need to do this through genuine consultation with local communities.

 

Some Final Thoughts

For our part at Petermans Housing Initiatives, I would describe our mood as ‘cautiously optimistic’. I really believe this could be a moment of great opportunity. This additional funding makes our ambitions in the build-to-rent space more feasible, and crucially more scalable. We are already in active conversations with developers and funders, exploring how we can collaborate to deliver housing that truly meets the needs of London’s communities.

Whether directly through delivery or by offering advisory support to like-minded operators in the sector, we are ready to step up.

I must also to take a moment to acknowledge the vital work of organisations such as the National Housing Federation and the Chartered Institute of Housing, as well as many others and indeed many individuals too – too many to mention!

I have no doubt that your advocacy and your lobbying has helped to shape the positive outcome of this Review.

It is a testament to what can happen when expertise and passion come together in service of the common good.

The road ahead is still uncertain. We must scrutinise how delivery mechanisms evolve, how local authorities respond, and how the market absorbs this new direction of travel. Pledges are a start, but success itself means delivery, and that means quality, fit-for-purpose homes: built, let out and lived in.

At Petermans Housing Initiatives, we are ready to roll up our sleeves and get stuck in. I truly believe in the inherent good in humanity. I also believe that everyone deserves a safe, secure place to call home.

This week’s announcement has given us real cause for hope and optimism. Now, the real work begins.

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