In July, secretary of state for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Michael Gove announced a review of permitted development rights in a bid to refresh planning rules, setting out plans to make it easier to convert large shops — such as takeaways, bookmakers, and offices — into residential properties.

He also said that barn conversions should be allowed. 

The proposals to relax rules around the use of retail space are expected to provide greater density of housing in inner cities.

But a poll of 270 BTL landlords conducted by MFB found that only 7% thought the reforms would work.

When asked if they thought the proposed planning reforms would help the government build one million homes in England by the end of the current parliament, 59% of landlords said they thought the results were “unlikely to scratch the surface”.

Some 15% of respondents said the reforms could work “to a small degree, but not at scale”.

Nearly one-fifth (19%) thought the reforms could make the housing shortage worse, as they focus attention on building homes in cities and allow politicians to ignore the need to scrap planning laws.

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In July, Gove also promised the creation of city development corporations with the power to buy up brownfield land and sell it on to housing developers. 

Separately, prime minister Rishi Sunak promised that his government would deliver new homes without “concreting over the countryside” as he set out plans to focus housebuilding in areas that are already built up.

However, when asked if the country could tackle the housing crisis by building on brownfield sites alone, only one-quarter of landlords (24%) said they thought it was possible.

Gavin Richardson, managing director at MFB, commented: “Britain needs more homes to fulfil more dreams of homeownership and increase choice for renters.

“It's great that these proposals mean that fewer empty shops or offices are left gathering dust while we have an urgent need for more homes.

“But on their own, a review of the rules around permitted development rights is not going to achieve very much. 

“This is a small piece of a very large puzzle — on its own, there’s no way it is going to fix the housing crisis.

“Building in urban areas is an important element in providing more homes, but there’s a question of capacity.

“Building in Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool is not going to solve the housing shortage in the South East.

“Until we accept the need for a ‘green and brown belt’ around London, the South East will continue to be short of homes.”