Daniel Austin, CEO and co-founder at ASK Partners, said: “The government’s tightening of immigration rules risks deepening the UK’s housing crisis at precisely the wrong moment. The construction sector is already under intense pressure, from spiralling build costs and the impact of regulatory changes like the Building Safety Act, to planning bottlenecks and a chronic shortage of skilled labour. Limiting access to foreign workers threatens to compound these issues, further stalling progress on desperately needed housing.
“Capital Economics estimates that an additional 500,000 workers are needed to meet the government’s target of building 300,000 homes a year. However, this latest decision risks making that goal harder to achieve. Without a clearer workforce strategy and targeted financial support, particularly for SME housebuilders facing rising costs, there’s a real risk that construction activity will slow, land values could soften, and the delivery of affordable housing may be delayed.
“If Labour is serious about delivering its pledge to build 1.5 million homes, it must adopt a joined-up strategy that aligns immigration, planning reform, and construction financing. That means enabling access to skilled labour, accelerating approvals, and providing the support developers need to build viable, sustainable communities. Anything less risks turning a crisis into a collapse.”