The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has called on the government to take urgent action to ensure the delivery of affordable homes.

The latest data from RICS shows that 86% of respondents to its residential survey are not expecting to market starter homes within the next 12 months. This suggests that respondents do not see any evidence of a pipeline on the horizon.

Ahead of the Housing White Paper and Autumn Statement, RICS also says the government should do more to free up brownfield and unused land, as well as investing more in local council planning departments to speed up approval of applications.

The calls come in response to the findings of October’s RICS UK Residential Market Survey, which showed that 59% of those questioned said that planning constraints was the main factor standing in the way of new housing development schemes.

It also showed that 59% said freeing up brownfield sites would be the main thing government could do to encourage more affordable housing, and 33% said the government should force developers to use land that is currently being land-banked.