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Housing markets in devolved nations to remain frozen as England’s reopens
The Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish governments have said that restrictions on moving homes during the coronavirus crisis will remain in place despite the English housing market being reopened by housing secretary Robert Jenrick.
Mr Jenrick announced a plan on Tuesday night to allow estate agents to reopen offices and show homes, conduct viewings and restart other essential parts of the sales and lettings process.
But the two devolved governments have confirmed its restrictions on moving homes remain in place. .
A spokesperson for the Scottish government told Inside Housing: “We are moving at a different pace and we will be making announcements in future but we have not moved from our position.”
The original guidance for Scotland, published on 31 March, said that people are “urged to delay moving to a new home while stay-at-home measures are in place”.
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The guidance also states that “no one should visit the property to conduct viewings, or anything else which is not urgent and health and safety related”.
Specific guidance for social landlords said that most landlords had suspended allocating properties during the pandemic but that allocations would be made for people in “extreme need”.
A document published by the Northern Ireland Executive on 12 May stated that people should only move house “if absolutely necessary”. A spokesperson from the Northern Irish Executive said it had not moved from that position.
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “Our stay-at-home regulations continue to be in force in Wales. We continue to ask people to stay at home to protect themselves and others from coronavirus. If people can postpone their moving date, they should do so.”
Mr Jenrick said the plan introduced on Tuesday meant that 450,000 buyers and renters who have been unable to progress with deals during the lockdown could now move forward with moving homes.
His plan also included guidance to allow extended working hours on construction sites and a ‘Safe Working Charter’ to reduce the risk of infection on sites.
Update: at 11:59am This story was updated with the confirmation that the Northern Irish Executive had not opened its housing market.
Update: at 12:07pm This story was updated with the confirmation that the Welsh Government had not opened its housing market.
