Riette Oosthuizen recently joined Rob Fiehn and Huw Williams’ Negroni Talks #54, Home Economics, alongside:
- Yolande Barnes, University College London
- David Perez, Ackroyd Lowrie
- Stephen Porter, Here Residential
- Chris Bailey, Action on Empty Homes
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Turning a lens to short term lets, HMOs, and the subjective nature of ‘affordability’, Home Economics posed the question: “What does it mean when our built environment is designed as an asset?”
David Perez shared insight into Barcelona’s recent decision to ban all short-term holiday rentals by 2028 with an aim to increase availability of housing stock for full-time residents. With Chris Bailey following up with reports of the impact that holiday homes and short-term rentals have on coastal and rural communities in the UK.
Changing perspective, Yolande Barnes commented that every day, London accommodates an overnight population the size of Manchester. She stated that short-term rentals help to accommodate this temporary population and offer residents the opportunity to make money from their homes in the process.
Offering insight into the planning sector, Riette Oosthuizen commented that the UK needs to consider the way that communities are created and spaces are used now. She suggested that moving the focus away from home ownership could be beneficial and allow more flexibility.
Stephen Proctor suggested that the monetisation of housing is due, in part, to the decline in small-scale developers. Land and build costs are prohibitive to small developments, and so large-scale developers plug the gap and prioritise profit.
You can read the full synopsis and listen to the discussion here.
Thank you to Rob and Huw for another insightful and controversial evening of discussion.