The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) is calling on the chancellor of the exchequer to cut Stamp Duty on sales of empty homes in next month’s budget. The CIH said that the policy could bring 5,000 properties a year into use, at a cost of £50 million. Their proposal would require landlords who bennefitted form the scheme to enter into an agreement to keep any properties let as rented accommodation for a set period, possibly of up to five years. More on the story here
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The budget will no doubt grab headlines for the Chancellor’s neat little fiddle to petrol prices, but I’m more interested in what’s behind some similar footwork on new homes.
The budget introduces First Buy a £250million programme that it is claimed will help first time buyers buy homes. It does this by an equity share scheme that builds up enough capital to create a 25% deposit for a first time buyer. The cost is met partly by the government (10%) , partly by the housebuilder (10%) and partly by the buyer (5%). In this way a first time buyer who [...]
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