11 things we learned from Sajid Javid’s speech on the housing white paper

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Communities secretary Sajid Javid stood in the House of Commons today to unveil the government's long-awaited housing white paper, so what did we learn about the government's plans to fix the housing crisis?

Well, not much. The speech was pretty vague. Javid said the government would be speeding up construction, encouraging institutional investment in the rental sector and protecting the greenbelt. However, he didn't offer details on how these aims would be achieved.

Read more: Housing white paper: Deregulation and council targets are not enough

Here are 11 things we learned from Javid's launch of the white paper:

Key points from Sajid Javid's speech

  1. There will be a £3bn fund created to help small firms build more homes
  2. Government aims to build more than 25,000 homes by 2020
  3. Every local area has to produce a realistic housing plan which they must review every five years
  4. Measures will be introduced to identify sites for development which are "not simply empty spaces" but are "usable, practical sites"
  5. Sajid Javid has promised that he will not be "recklessly ripping up our countryside" – the greenbelt is safe
  6. Government is going to be releasing more land, more quickly, and increasing transparency measures around landbanking
  7. Javid is going to ensure people have a say in their areas – communities must have a say in how developments look
  8. To help local authorities, Javid said he is "looking at" compulsory purchasing powers
  9. The government wants to make it easier for small and medium sized builders to compete by supporting off-site construction
  10. Institutional investment in the private rented sector is being encouraged
  11. The government will be tackling unfair leasehold terms