With Housing high on the agenda and SME house builders still struggling to gain a foothold, we launched our revamped Small House Builders Survey in front of a packed room at the House of Commons.
Backing small house builders nationally
The nation’s small house builders were centre stage at an event with nearly 200 politicians, journalists, industry experts and FMB members. Today, only 9% of homes are delivered by smaller developers. They used to deliver 40% of all new homes in the late 80’s, but planning changes, increased bureaucracy and a few recessions have eroded small house builders over the years. Unfortunately, that means the UK is now reliant on a few major players to deliver homes, which isn’t a healthy market.
This year’s reception was kindly sponsored by the Openreach, and hosted by the UK’s Construction Champion Mike Reader MP, and we were delighted to be joined by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage, Lords Minister for Housing and Local Government, and Shadow Secretary for Housing Sir James Cleverly MP.
Why these events matter for our members
Events like this help to ensure that the work of the FMB can reach the widest possible audience, and can be heard by the decision makers. They are vital in ensuring that the voice of our members is heard loud and clear. This means our members having their voices heard at the highest level, ensuring we can deliver change – like the withdrawal of a 3,000% rise in Landfill Tax for house builders which the FMB, working with other organisations secured in the latest Budget.
Change can only happen with the Government’s backing. The FMB Winter Reception attracted supporters and representatives from across the political spectrum - securing cross-party support is always key. It was good to see support from all sides in the push for more small house builders.
Having the most senior politicians in Britain choosing to support FMB events demonstrates that the FMB is taken seriously and has real impact.
Removing barriers to small-scale development
Brian Berry, FMB Chief Executive, took the room through the top finding of the new Small House Builders’ Survey. The report provides a comprehensive breakdown of the challenges facing small, local house builders and explores broader factors influencing the market. Despite strong buyer demand, SME builders continue to face significant obstacles that threaten the Government’s ambition to deliver 1.5 million new homes.
Baroness Taylor, spoke about the importance of diversifying the housing market so that it’s not reliant on a few major developers. She also noted that this is a difficult task and the Government doesn’t underestimate the ambition of hitting 1.5 million new homes by the end of this parliament. She also noted some major announcements which were made on the day and the FMB has responded to.
Sir James Cleverly MP said that there was little disagreement with the Government’s stance on small house builders - they must be encouraged to build more. He struck a conciliatory tone, noting that the housing crises was not addressed when the previous Conservative Government was in power and that was a mistake. He noted that wouldn’t be the case in the future and spoke on the Conservative Party plans to scrap Stamp Duty.
Our 2026 strategy for SME house builders
We maintain a constant dialogue with the Housing Department to ensure small house builders can regain a foothold in the market and become significant players once more. We are a well-respected voice on the topic, and this has led to meetings with the Prime Minister and other senior figures. 2026 will be no different and we’ll keep up the engagement to support smaller developers.
