Housing Quick Wins: Call for Evidence

The Fabian Housing Centre is undertaking research to identify quick or no cost wins that could increase housebuilding in England, improve the housing market, and deliver better quality new build homes faster.

We are seeking evidence and practical, workable proposals for reform. These could include amendments to the draft NPPF document published in December 2025, or other new ideas.

This call for evidence seeks submissions from individuals and organisations with an interest in housing policy and who want to ensure good quality homes are built quicker. This research is being conducted with Land, Planning and Development Federation.

Questions:

• What is the one-line summary of the proposed policy reform?
• How will this reform lead to new homes being built more quickly within this parliament?
• By 2029, how many additional new homes annually do you estimate this reform could result in? This can be a high-level or informal estimate and, if you can, please explain how you arrived at this number.
• What impact, if any, will this have on the quality and standards of new builds being built?
• Are there any reports or documents that provide more information about this recommendation?
• Would you be willing to provide any submissions you made to the current or previous NPPF consultation?

Contributors are encouraged to submit more than one policy idea.

Areas of particular interest:

We are particularly interested in ideas around:

• Speeding up the preparation and determination of planning applications.
• Maximising the opportunity of increased density around train and tram stations.
• Ensuring Great British Rail facilities, rather than prevents, development.
• Encouraging the use of golf courses for housing.
• Increasing the number of homes built in rural areas, including those for social rent.
• Supporting the conversion of heritage assets into homes.
• Reforming Section 106 and other land value capture mechanisms.
• Improving the build-out rates of sites with planning permission.

We are also interested in how these ideas could benefit specific housebuilders, including SMEs, social housing providers and other non-profit builders.

We do also welcome other ideas outside of these areas of particular interest.

What is a quick win:

The Fabian Housing Centre has identified several principles to define a ‘quick win’:

• Can be implemented quickly and have an impact on building before 2029.
• Results in a significant increase in new homes being built annually for at least 10 years, rather a one-off increase.
• Avoids primary legislation, unless it can be easily slotted into bills expected to be passed during this parliament.
• Has no significant direct financial cost to the Exchequer.
• Has little negative impact on the quality, standards and space of new builds.

How to respond?

The Fabian Society is very grateful to individuals and organisations interested in feeding into the project and we want to make it as easy as possible for you to engage. Our questions are designed to keep any submission as short and simply as possible.

You can submit a written response to our questions or send us previous published work relevant to the project, including consultation responses.

Please send an email to palma.oxley@fabians.org.uk including links and/or attachments if applicable. The deadline for the call for evidence is 5pm, 26 February 2026.