The nine largest housebuilders own enough land with planning consent for almost 225,000 homes – more than double the number of houses they build annually, according to a report by the Royal Town Planning Institute. Financial Times


The institute says that five of the top housebuilders have more than three years’ supply of consented land, two have more than four years and one – Berkeley – has enough for the next six and a half years.

'Housebuilders and others need to stop blaming the planning system as the sole factor in restricting housing supply,' said Kevin MacDonald, director of policy and research at the RTPI. 'If we are to tackle the affordable housing crisis, we need to move away from overly simplistic views of demand and supply and look as well at the other factors that contribute to the crisis.'