17th September 1980: A sofa made from the back of a Chevrolet car and built into a bookcase. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

Experts have been warning about the housing crisis for decades – and the solutions have been staring us in the face for just as long, says Kristian Niemietz

“[T]he planning system […] has significantly increased land and housing prices […] and distorted the economic structure, all of which have led to the British standard of living being lower than it otherwise would be. […] The aggregate reduction is […] probably of the order of 10 per cent or more of national income”.

This is a finding from No Room! No Room! The Costs of the British Town and Country Planning System, a study on the causes and consequences of Britain’s housing crisis, published by the Institute of Economic Affairs this week.

I know what you’re thinking: “Oh, please, not another report telling us that we need to relax planning restrictions and start building things again. Haven’t we all figured this out by now?”

But here’s a twist: this “new” report is not new at all. It is a republication of a report from 1988.

I have added a new foreword and new footnotes, to make sure the report contains........

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