Housing & pensions

Housing and pensions are the two biggest challenges comfronting the UK in the coming decades.

But could they actually be the mutual solution?

Housing provision

The Barker Review indicated that the UK could need an additional 2.7 m houses by 2031.

With public finances on the floor and private house builders only building approximately half of what's required we've got no chance of providing enough.

Pension shortfall

The collapse of public finances and the deficit means that the UK is facing a pension black hole with many of us not being able to retire for at least a decade after we originally intended.

The solution

Allow landlords and individuals to place residential property in a their pension. Residential property is a perfect generator of a long - term dependable income stream perfect for the requirements of retirees.

More positive outlook

My argument would be that rather than politicians seeing landlords as the problem. The familiar re post is: 'Buy-to-let is pricing homeowners out of the market'. This ignores the fact that landlords are part of the potential solution. Give landlords and buy-to-let investors more favourable terms to hold property in their pensions and this could be just the step to generate the serious investment in housing now needed. At a stroke the provision of more housing through greater buy-to-let investment could do much to shore up the resources of many beleaguered pensions.

Landlord insurance - all the options