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Since becoming Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, formerly mayor of Greater Manchester, has focused his leadership platform on a “10-year mission”1 to deliver improved living standards across the UK, including significant reform of housing and infrastructure.
Since forming a new cabinet, the Government has started to announce a range of new policies, with particular focus on tackling the cost-of-living crisis. Further announcements are anticipated over the summer, ahead of the 2026 Budget on 28 October. Some of the areas that may impact the real estate sector are considered below.
A long-term investment horizon
The Prime Minister seems to favour long-term delivery timescales consistent with the Government's existing 10-year industrial strategy2 and health plan3. For the real estate sector, this approach may suit institutional investors seeking opportunities aligned to long-term capital, enabling investment through market cycles rather than reliance on short-term strategies vulnerable to economic and geopolitical shocks. The Prime Minister's allies have criticised “sole reliance on rolling five-year forecasts” as embedding short-termism into decision-making, systematically undervaluing investments with longer maturity horizons4.
Growth through devolution
The Prime Minister’s flagship approach is “Manchesterism” - using the Greater Manchester model as a blueprint for a nationwide model of devolution designed to deliver “good growth” in every postcode. This means devolving power to local level, placing universities at the heart of local economies, backing an innovation-led approach through start-ups and scale-ups, and committing to improved infrastructure UK-wide. He has previously championed “Good Growth Funds,” designed to attract pension fund and private investors into strategic local projects, and has proposed to roll this out to help “all areas establish Good Growth Funds”5.
The key implications of devolution for the real estate market are as follows.
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Decentralisation of funding: capital may become more broadly distributed across UK regions rather than concentrated in prime London, creating opportunities in less saturated local markets. Institutional capital is already reportedly looking to secondary regional cities which are “outyielding” London by 150–200 basis points. Further devolution may add to the attraction of these regional cities.
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Devolved tax powers: a new devolution tax plan was announced at the most recent Mais Lecture6 by the previous Chancellor. Further details are expected at Budget 2026, with regional leaders expected to receive a share of some national taxes (potentially including income tax from 2028) 7. Assuming the newly appointed Chancellor, John Healey, takes this forward, this could unlock new, long-term, funding mechanisms for regeneration and infrastructure, as mayors will be able to borrow against those income streams. Further details are likely to evolve in the next Spending Review scheduled to take place in 2027, however there are reports that this could be combined8 with this year’s Budget.
Legislative support: Labour has already committed to greater devolution. The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026 is a prime example which sits alongside smaller devolution-led proposals such as the overnight visitor levy.
Checks and balances: the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government has placed nine local authorities into special measures, meaning applications for major developments in those areas may go directly to the Planning Inspectorate. This may allay concerns about consistency of decision-making at local level.
Housing and Construction
Housing is central to the Prime Minister's economic strategy. He has promised to “drive the biggest council house building scheme since the post-war period”. However, delivery challenges remain significant. Around 10,000 council homes were built in 2024-2025 and rapid delivery remains constrained by building safety legislation, planning delays, cost and availability of materials, and the skills gap. Against this economic and regulatory backdrop, it remains unclear who will construct the homes, what the funding model will be, or how viability challenges (particularly in mixed-tenure schemes) will be addressed.
The Prime Minister has suggested using vacant public land and higher-density residential schemes in towns to reduce costs. He has also promised “apprenticeships for all” to close the skills gap. The Government's £39bn social and affordable homes programme may prove to be a key funding source, alongside the National Housing Bank which will bring forward £16bn of new public investment and unlock over £53bn of private investment. Bond investors have previously urged the Government to permit development corporations to borrow outside fiscal rules9 and the Prime Minister may consider this approach, alongside smaller Enterprise Zone arrangements, to accelerate planning. The Prime Minister’s “New Model of Government” published on 31 July 2026 states that “mayors will be equipped to support the building of council homes, including through greater devolution of the Social and Affordable Homes Programme” and pledges a strengthening of “the framework for public development corporations to drive local housing and infrastructure development.”10
The Prime Minister may be encouraged by reports this week from the National Housebuilding Council that the London housing market is showing some signs of recovery after a long period of low construction starts. In particular, registrations of affordable housing and build to rent registrations held stable. However, the NHBC reported a drop in registrations of new homes in six out of 12 regions when comparing Q2 2026 with Q2 202511. Such regional disparity is expected to bolster the Prime Minister’s devolution policy.
We may also see the Government consider the following areas.
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Right to Buy: the Prime Minister may seek to give local authorities discretion to limit sales of existing housing stock through Right to Buy. He may be able to argue that this generally aligns with the Labour Manifesto which pledged to “better protect our existing stock by reviewing the increased right to buy discounts introduced in 2012 and increasing protections on newly-built social housing”12.
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Green belt: it is unclear if a Burnham-led Labour Party will maintain the existing “grey belt” and brownfield-first approach. His position on green belt release has shifted historically. His recent speech referred to “protecting more green spaces from development”, creating uncertainty around the existing grey belt and brownfield-first approach.
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Rent controls: although the Prime Minister was reportedly considering rent controls to ease the cost of living, Angela Rayner (reinstated as Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government) ruled out rent controls during an interview in July 2026. A report, published on 29 July 2026 by UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP) and the New Economics Foundation (NEF)13, has prompted renewed discussion on the topic. The report found that “interest rate rises and tax changes in recent years have hit landlords harder than a two-year rent freeze would have” and recommends raising capital gains tax on residential investment property to “create space for a preferential reduced rate where landlords sell to registered providers or cooperatives” therefore resulting in opportunities for acquisition and availability of more social housing.
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Later living: as part of the pre-legislative scrutiny of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill, the Government is reportedly considering alternative tenure models for integrated retirement communities, based on international examples such as the licence to occupy agreements used in New Zealand. It will be interesting to see how this might “sit” with the Prime Minister’s housing-first strategy which prioritises long-term and stable housing (occupiers would have a right to live in a unit but would not own it) and addressing onerous property tax (occupiers would usually not pay rates).
Public/private partnerships
During his time as mayor of Greater Manchester, The Prime Minister partnered with the private sector with apparent success. His “Greater Manchester way” of promoting strong partnerships between the public and private sectors could create opportunities for private companies and investors to partner with local authorities and housing associations, benefiting from the de-risking of government-backed initiatives.
The Prime Minister has also promised to support re-industrialisation and restore “sovereign manufacturing” capacity in energy, defence and farming, with more opportunity for British companies to access Government contracts. Real estate will play a key role in delivering this increased capacity, including warehousing/logistics, industrial development, military sites and associated office space.
High street retail and leisure
The Prime Minister has already promised business rates reform to achieve a “new renaissance on our high streets”. On 23 July 2026, he announced a 20% cut in business rates for pubs, clubs and business venues (which may be counterbalanced by an increase in taxes on warehouse and large online retailers). Other potential measures may include:
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expansion of small business rates relief and tapered relief; and
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greater fiscal control for regional mayors, backed by business rates retention.
Infrastructure
Housing delivery depends on supporting infrastructure. There is a reported £6bn of unspent developer contributions which, if unlocked, could help deliver community infrastructure including healthcare, transport and energy.
Using new powers under the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026, mayors will be able to introduce a local mayoral Community Infrastructure Levy on large-scale commercial property development — expanding a power previously reserved for London.
The Prime Minister has also indicated a more interventionist approach: he is pro-public ownership of water and has pledged to reform essential utilities. These policies could result in new procurement contracts and investment opportunities in the energy sector.
Land and property tax reform
Although no formal policy statement has been made, The Prime Minister has long-held views on property taxes and they are expected to feature on his agenda. Below we explore some areas which may be considered.
Stamp duty land tax (SDLT): in the near-term, reform of SDLT is not expected in the upcoming Budget, following comments made by the Prime Minister in Portsmouth on 27 July 202614 that he was not looking to scrap the tax immediately. However, the Prime Minister has signalled a desire to achieve a “fairer” tax system which suggests that other options for raising taxes on property may remain on the political table. Given that he has floated a range of different ideas in the past, it is difficult to ascertain the nature of any reform at this stage.
Council tax: further to the previously announced high-value council tax charge on homes worth more than £2m, the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Local Government has recently restated calls for reform of the council tax system at large, proposing “additional upper bands” and greater Local Authority freedom to raise council tax by “removing the referendum principles” 15. The Prime Minister has previously expressed his personal keenness “to see reform of council tax”16.
Proportional property tax: the lobby group Fairer Share supports a proportional property tax (PPT) — an annual levy on property value that would replace both SDLT and council tax. Homeowners would pay 0.48% of property value annually, with higher rates for second homes, and for overseas owners and landlords. A petition, launched by Fairer Share calling for a PPT, closed on 23 July 2026 with more than 100,000 signatures — making it eligible for consideration by the Petitions Committee for a Parliamentary debate17. Critics raise concerns about inflationary effects (landlords passing on costs to tenants), the practicalities of annual valuations, and potential double-taxation for those who have already paid SDLT.
Land value tax: this proposed annual tax would be based on the value of underlying land rather than the property constructed upon it. If restricted to domestic properties only and charged at 1.28% it is estimated that it would raise in excess of £56bn for the Exchequer (almost “revenue neutral” if replacing SDLT and council tax)18. Practical considerations (for example, around valuations) are often cited as blockers to the feasibility of administering this tax alongside inequity of impact across the UK as a whole (London and the South East bearing the cost increase). The Prime Minister has previously said that he has “long been persuaded of the argument for a land value tax.”
The road to the Budget
The Prime Minister has pledged to maintain “sound public finances” and adhere to current fiscal rules. The Financial Times reported a generally positive initial reaction from gilt investors based on his reassurance on borrowing and ambition to cut the welfare bill, although some concerns remain about extra spending.
Under his leadership a more devolved, place-based, infrastructure-led and socially oriented real estate agenda is likely. In the short term, the Prime Minister is expected to build on Labour's existing real estate policy platform, that of housing delivery, planning reform, infrastructure, leasehold reform, renters' rights, business rates reform and net zero, with a renewed focus on devolution and social housing. For developers and investors, the key question will be whether further stricter reforms will improve delivery or add to costs and viability uncertainty.
We will likely see further announcements coming over the summer ahead of the Budget. As indicated above, the Prime Minister is also reportedly considering combining the spending review with the fiscal statement at the Budget, which would set out policy priorities and funding allocation early in his tenure19.
Footnotes
1 Burnham to give mayors more power in 10-year plan to transform economy - BBC News
2 Industrial Strategy - GOV.UK
3 10 Year Health Plan for England: fit for the future - GOV.UK
4 A new fiscal framework to renew Britain | Renewal
5 Rewiring the nation, Burnham-style
7 Andy Burnham to give English mayors share of income tax from 2028
8 Andy Burnham explores holding expanded autumn Budget
9 Ease borrowing curbs for development schemes, gilt investors urge Reeves
10 Rewiring the State – Cabinet Statement (HTML) - GOV.UK
11 New home registrations fall again in Q2 as developers slow house-building activity - NHBC
13 Taking back control of rents.pdf
14 Burnham takes to world stage - and shuts down stamp duty reports | News UK Video News | Sky News
16 Andy Burnham plots property tax raid as he begins by-election campaign
17 Commission a full Independent Review of Council Tax and Stamp Duty - Petitions
18 What would a land value tax actually do? - Tax Policy Associates
19 Andy Burnham explores holding expanded autumn Budget
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