Currently, the number of new homes being built is only 3% lower than in 2007, however, a change in government policy in 2014 has provided the biggest boost from developers turning shops, offices and other commercial property into residential housing.

According to an interesting set of figures published by a national building society, the number of applications for this kind of ‘change of use’ soared between 2006/07 and 2016/17 from about 20,000 to around 37,000, with about 18,000 of these converted under permitted development rights.

•   Opportunities for holiday let investors in the BTL market
•   The continuing growth of the specialist lending market
•   Together lends £147.5m in November

This policy has proved particularly strong in boosting housing supply in London, where the rise in the number of dwellings each year is now 22% higher than at the 2007/08 peak, and homes created by change of use has accounted for more than a fifth of new housing added in the capital in 2016/17, well above the 16% recorded in the rest of the country.

At Together, we provide specialist funding for projects which can often be complicated and can help developers in situations which may not neatly fit the rigid criteria of mainstream lenders. For example, we provided a £806,000 bridging loan, with a 17-month term at 61% LTV, for a buy-to-let investment company to purchase and develop a former office block.

Once completed, the conversion project of the empty former police offices will create 32 modern, self-contained flats for the rental market. This is a great example of how creative thinking on the part of investors and developers can offer one solution to providing more places for people to live and it should be welcomed, given the current housing shortage.