The property industry must work with the government to strengthen regulation of the housing market, housing minister Grant Shapps has said today.

In his first speech since taking up the position, Shapps indicated that the property industry would be asked to support tougher regulation in order to prevent another housing bubble.

Speaking at the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors in London this morning, he said: “We will need to work together across the housing market – builders and surveyors, lenders and brokers, regulators and agents– to ensure that the conditions which created the housing bubbles of the past are never repeated.”

Shapps also underlined the importance of so-called localism in his plans for housing. Last month, the Labour government’s regional spatial strategies, which set housing targets for local authorities, were scrapped.

Instead, the coalition wants to incentivise councils to build homes through granting them funding to match council tax revenues from new build homes.

Shapps said: “The more power we give away, the more people will act to generate real change.

“Rather than being told what to build and where, residents of villages, towns and cities will be able to develop their own vision for their place. We’ll introduce Local Housing Trusts, enabling communities to create new housing for local people.”

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