Housing and the Summer Statement
Funding for energy efficiency improvements and a temporary cut to Stamp Duty were among the housing announcements included in Rishi Sunak’s Summer Statement today.
Major housing announcements included:
Temporary Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) cut
The government will temporarily increase the Nil Rate Band of Residential SDLT, in England and Northern Ireland, from £125,000 to £500,000.
This will apply from 8th July 2020 until 31st March 2021 and cut the tax due for everyone who would have paid SDLT.
Nearly nine out of ten people getting on or moving up the property ladder will pay no SDLT at all.
The Treasury has also confirmed to the NRLA that as a result of the package of reforms to stamp duty from today the 3% stamp duty levy on the purchase of additional dwellings by landlords will change from covering the first £125,000 of a property to the first £500,000.
Thereafter the rates will be 8% on the next £425,000, 13% on the next £575,000 and 15% cent on the remaining amount.
Green Homes Grant
The government will introduce a £2 billion Green Homes Grant, providing at least £2 for every £1 homeowners and landlords spend to make their homes more energy efficient, up to £5,000 per household.
The NRLA has been campaigning for funding for landlords to improve the energy efficiency of their homes for some time.
For those on the lowest incomes, the scheme will fully fund energy efficiency measures of up to £10,000 per household.
In total this could support over 100,000 green jobs and help strengthen a supply chain that will be vital for meeting our target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
The scheme aims to upgrade over 600,000 homes across England, saving households hundreds of pounds per year on their energy bills.
Short-Term Home Building Fund extension
The government will support small- and medium-sized housebuilders that are unable to access private finance by boosting the Short-Term Home Building Fund, providing an additional £450 million in development finance to smaller firms.
This is expected to support around 7,200 new homes in England, boosting housing supply and adding resilience to the market.
A proportion of this fund will be reserved for firms using innovative approaches to housebuilding such as ‘Modern Methods of Construction’.
Planning reform
The government will introduce new legislation in summer 2020 to make it easier to build better homes in the places people want to live.
New regulations will make it easier to convert buildings for different uses, including housing, without the need for planning permission.
In July 2020, the government will launch a policy paper setting out its plan for comprehensive reforms of England’s planning system to better support the economy and release more land for housing in areas that need it most.
