<p>Labour leader Ed Miliband has told his party conference today (September 25) a Labour government would tackle the housing crisis by building 200,000 homes a year by 2020.</p> <p>He said that he plans to free-up councils from planning regulations, penalise developers who hoard land and identify new towns and garden cities. "We will say to private developers - you can't just sit on land and refuse to build - either use the land or lose the land."</p> <p>Labour is to set up a commission to review housing policy under former BBC trust chairman Sir Michael Lyons.</p> <p>Responding to the speech, HBF executive chairman Stewart Baseley said: "It is very positive that the Labour party is prioritising housing delivery and focussing on demand side and planning constraints. Recent months have seen some confidence return and builders looking to increase their build rate. It is vital any new government builds on the progress made so we can start to build the homes of all tenures and sizes the country needs."</p>