Decline in small house builders continues, warns FMB

March 20, 2025

New figures for planning applications in 2024, published by the Government today show worrying signs that, despite the push to boost house building rates, permissions granted to small sites of 9 units or fewer are down, demonstrating the smallest house builders are struggling to get homes delivered, warns the FMB.

Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB commented: “It is deeply disappointing to see the number of planning applications granted for developments of 9 or fewer units in 2024 were down significantly on the previous year, by almost 2,000. This means a mere 9% of homes delivered will be from the nation’s small local house builders – an increasingly dwindling part of the sector. The Housing Minister has been clear about the need to diversify the housing market away from a reliance on a small number of high-volume builders, yet today’s figures show more needs to be done.”

Berry continued: “What sets small, local builders apart is that they come from the very communities they build for, delivering high quality projects using local skills. But we know from the FMB’s House Builders’ Survey in December 2024 that the planning system is the number one barrier preventing SME builders from building. We need to see more resources allocated to local authority planning departments, dedicated to helping SME builders navigate the challenges of planning system, and allowing them to deliver the homes we need.”

EAN Breaking News

Breaking News from the team at Estate Agent Networking. Have a new story to share with us? Then please get in contact today! When and where we can we will refer to third party websites with a 'live link back' where news was released first.

You May Also Enjoy

Breaking News

Solutions to fix construction skills

The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) has released a report titled, ‘Skills to Build: Fixing Britain’s construction workforce crisis.’ After speaking to several organizations and having roundtables to garner a wide understanding of the sectors’ perspectives and needs, they have proposed twenty six recommendations that will fix the issues underpinning the skills crisis. Richard Beresford,…
Read More →
Breaking News

Budget Commentary – Mansion Tax, Business Rates & Planning Reform

Andrew Teacher, Co-founder at LauderTeacher, one of the UK’s leading advisors on real estate communications, investor relations and a former spokesman for the BPF, comments on the potential Budget. Mansion tax “Nobody likes paying tax, but the reality is a council tax revaluation is long overdue. Rather than distorting the market, which is what a…
Read More →
Rightmove logo
Breaking News

Budget 2025 market data & home-mover and agent insight

Speculation about property tax changes is fuelling uncertainty across much of the market Rightmove research found that home-movers would favour staggered stamp duty payments, while a poll of estate agents also suggested that staggered payments would be a preferable change to shifting payment to the seller Rightmove data on rumoured property tax changes Mansion Tax…
Read More →
Breaking News

Breaking Property News 24/11/25

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X. Symple resolves four core issues in the new Renter’s Rights Act Automating compliance in the new PRS landscape   The Renters’ Rights Act has raised the bar for private landlords in England in terms of property condition, hazard resolution, evidence of compliance and regulatory registration. Symple…
Read More →
Breaking News

What does Rachel Reeves have in store for the UK property market?

With the Autumn Budget now just days away, speculation is mounting that the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, will use property taxation as a central tool to address the widely reported fiscal shortfall of between £20bn and £40bn. As a result, the housing market has entered a period of caution, with asking prices falling 1.8 percent in…
Read More →
Letting Agent Talk

Why Property Guarantors Need Legal Advice Before Signing

When it comes to property deals, it’s natural to look for additional support, especially when you’re not fully confident about meeting the terms of the agreement. This is where a guarantor comes into play, as they step in to give the property owner some assurance. The idea of helping someone you trust can feel quite…
Read More →