A massive drop in the level of social and affordable housing is to blame for the crisis in the UK housing market, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). RICS' concerns are highlighted in its response to the Barker Review. It argues that the key issue is affordability and that the major growth areas in the south east such as Thames Gateway will do little to ease this problem in London. They will only work if the right infrastructure is in place and there is a better understanding of how to create new housing markets. The response also suggests that it is the housebuilders rather than the planning system that are controlling supply to maximise profits and satisfy shareholders. HBF spokesman Pierre Williams said he welcomed the fact that RICS had recognised that undersupply was the root cause of rampant house price inflation, but refuted the suggestion that housebuilders control supply. "This claim needs to be backed up by evidence of which there is none in the report. The irony is that RICS seems not to understand that the subsidy demanded from developers for affordable housing is largely responsible for preventing development by reducing the viability of suitable …