2024 General Election Hub: Empowering a sustainable future

The UK's built and natural environments face large-scale challenges ranging from climate change to a cost-of-living crisis, creating additional difficulties for a housing sector experiencing crucial supply shortages. Skills shortages undermine development in the industry while the workplace has become more fluid post-pandemic, with the built environment needing to reflect the change in workforce behaviour.

As the UK goes to the polls, RICS, with the support of its members and sector expertise, has been working with policymakers and thought leaders to ensure the built and natural environment is at the heart of manifestos, and the next governments agenda. Key asks, within the RICS Manifesto ‘Empowering a sustainable future’ include:

Hit housing targets with a housing delivery strategy that encompasses all tenures while addressing affordability and supply challenges.
Deliver a joined-up quality and sustainability strategy including reforming EPCs, scaling-up retrofitting to create affordable, healthy homes, and addressing our energy security needs.
Review skills shortages to tackle targets.
Hit housing targets with a housing delivery strategy.
Develop the much-needed National Fire Strategy as called on by industry to raise competency, standards and mitigation.

RICS Manifesto (PDF 13.47MB)

Published date: 22 May 2024

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“As a leading representative of the built and natural environment sectors in the UK and globally, RICS advocates policies with solutions to some of the most critical challenges of our time. The public needs safe, sustainable, energy-efficient, and affordable homes; businesses need high-quality commercial spaces that align with the decentralised digital economy, while the industry needs a more robust pipeline of diverse talent that fulfils the skills demands of the sector so that it can deliver its goals.”

Justin Young

RICS CEO

UK General Election: An election to empower a sustainable future

Following the announcement by the Prime Minister, the UK will now go to the polls in a General Election to be held on 4 July, 2024.

UK General Election 2024: What it means for housing

RICS will be analysing the implications for the sector and what it means for homeowners, renters, and those who play a critical role in housing supply, development, buying and selling.

Cultivating positive change in the natural environment

This is the first in a series of policy ‘deep dives’ looking at our response to sectors across the built and natural environment as we prepare for the General Election.

Leasehold Reform: what next for the sector?

Following the announcement of the UK General Election on 4 July 2024 both the government and opposition parties agreed that the House of Lords would consider the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill before the formal dissolution of parliament.