Industry figures have given a cautious welcome to Labour party plans to scrap the right of developers in certain instances to convert offices and commercial space into residential properties without the need for planning permission, known as permitted development rights (PDRs).

John Healey, Labour’s shadow housing secretary, said PDRs – brought in by the Conservative/Lib Dem coalition in 2013 in an attempt to speed up the delivery of homes across the UK – had allowed developers to “bypass the normal planning process by converting commercial spaces into housing without the consent of the council and local community.

“This gives developers a get-out from requirements to provide affordable housing and meet basic quality rules such as space standards creating ‘rabbit hutch’ flats,” he said.