The Legacy of Michael Gove: Did He Stem the Bleeding on the UK’s Housing Crisis?

Michael Gove’s resignation as Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has left the property industry wondering: was he good for housing? During his tenure, Gove pushed through a leasehold bill, initiated his own legislation, and drove it through. However, his housing legacy is complex, with critics arguing that successive Conservative governments have treated housing policy with a causal nature.

The UK’s housing crisis continues to be a pressing issue.

Gove famously called the UK’s housing market “broken” and said leaseholds were “a feudal system that had to go.” While many ministers spend their careers taking on bills started by others, Gove had a reputation for initiating his own legislation and driving it through. In housing, he pushed through a leasehold bill, although he was not able to get rent reforms over the line.

Leasehold reform was a key part of Gove’s housing agenda.

In other areas of his department, his levelling up legislation is regarded as a blueprint for any administration willing to spend billions over decades to reorder the country’s resources and opportunities. However, a low point was having to junk his housebuilding planning reforms after his own backbenchers threatened to vote against them.

The UK has struggled to meet its housebuilding targets.

Last year, the UK added 234,400 dwellings, unchanged compared to the previous 12 months. This is below the 2019 Conservative manifesto target of adding 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s. However, when the next set of annual figures are released, it is expected to boast one million homes built over the course of this parliament.

The UK is still struggling to meet its housing targets.

Labour leader Keir Starmer has promised to build 1.5 million homes over five years if the party is returned to government, through a combination of looser planning rules and green belt construction. Gove, in his resignation letter, said that he was proud to have introduced “the most wide-ranging reforms to leasehold, social housing and supported housing in a generation.”

Michael Gove’s housing legacy is complex.

The property industry has mixed views on Gove’s legacy. Some praise his efforts to reform leaseholds, while others criticize his failure to deliver on rent reforms. As the UK continues to grapple with its housing crisis, one thing is clear: there is still much work to be done.

The UK’s housing crisis is far from over.