Government Announces New Housing White Paper

Tue 07 Feb 2017

The theme runnning through today's Housing White Paper is clear - the Government has shifted its focus from home ownership, to renting. There is a stark acknowledgement that for many, buying their own home without financial support from the family is currently a pipe-dream. The government is looking to introduce safeguards for tenants in private rented housing, to encourage longer-term renting, whilst also placing a real emphasis on building new homes specifically for rent. Larger institutional investors will be targeted to undertake much of this development. 

An additional £3bn will be made available through the Home Building Fund to smaller house builders, to encourage greater growth at a higher density - but not on green belt land, which remains largely protected.

There was no mention of any change to current stamp duty levies, despite lobbying from much of the residential property industry.

Tim Lovett, Managing Director at Lovett Sales & Lettings commented "although the majority of these key features are welcomed by us as a business, we feel the paper is underwhelming and particularly woolly - devoid of any real substance. The overarching need to build substantially more homes, and fast - remains. As such, we wait with baited breath to see which solid policies will emerge from the paper". 

For a comprehensive list of all 29 key points to emerge from the Housing White Paper, click on this link https://www.lettingagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2017/2/here-are-all-28-key-points-in-there-housing-white-paper