Seven house builders have agreed to pay a total of £100m to affordable housing programmes in the UK after a competition watchdog investigation into potentially anticompetitive behaviour.
Barratt Redrow, Bellway, Berkeley Group, Bloor Homes, Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey and Vistry have pay the money and have agreed to several commitments to address the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA), the regulator said.
The CMA launched an investigation in February 2024 into suspected breaches of competition law by 8 housebuilders and concerns they may have swapped competitively sensitive information.
The building groups are alleged to have exchanged details about house sales including pricing, number of property viewings and incentives offered to buyers such as upgraded kitchens or stamp duty contributions.
The CMA said the payment is the largest ever it has secured as part of a deal. The money could be used to fund hundreds of new homes – helping low-income households, first-time buyers and vulnerable people.
The watchdog said if it accepts the firms’ voluntary offer it will mean “that it is not necessary for the CMA to decide whether the housebuilders broke competition law”.
The commitments will become legally binding allowing “the investigation to conclude swiftly and benefits to be felt quickly” the CMA said.
The construction firms must also agree in future not to share certain types of information with other housebuilders, including the prices houses have been sold for, except in limited circumstances.
The watchdog also wants the Home Builders Federation and Homes for Scotland to develop industry-wide guidance on information sharing.
Sarah Cardell, CMA chief executive, said: “Housing is a critical sector for the UK economy and housing costs are a substantial part of people’s monthly spend, so it’s essential that competition works well. This keeps prices as low as possible and increases choice.
“As a result of the CMA’s investigation, housebuilders are taking clear and comprehensive steps to ensure they comply with the law and don’t share competitively sensitive information with their rivals.
“Alongside these measures, the housebuilders we investigated have agreed to pay £100 million towards affordable homes programmes, which will help communities up and down the country.”
The CMA would not be drawn on whether the firms had shared commercially sensitive information such as sale prices with each other, potentially breaking the law.
“We don’t have to reach a conclusion in this case that there has been an infringement,” CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell told BBC Radio 4. “The reason for that is that our focus is making sure this market is working competitively going forward.”
The CMA said it is important that competition works well in the housebuilding market to keep prices fair, improve the quality of homes and support the delivery of essential infrastructure. This outcome sends a clear message to other companies that the CMA will take action where it has concerns that the law is being broken.
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