Monday, 12 April 2010

Proposals for the housing market by the main political parties

Labour

  • Up to 10,000 new council houses a year by 2014-15, and more affordable housing.
    Councils will retain their rental receipts locally, enabling them to support housebuilding and maintain properties.
    Two-year stamp duty holiday for first-time buyers on transactions up to £250,000; permanent new stamp duty top rate of 5 per cent on transactions over £1 million from April 2011.
  • Agreements with banks to lend £105 billion to homebuyers and businesses over the next year.
  • The standard interest rate on the Support for Mortgage Interest scheme will be maintained until December.
  • A crackdown on tenancy cheats who fraudulently sub-let social housing.
  • Guaranteed housing standards for social tenants; measures to strengthen consumer protections for private tenants.
  • New homes to be zero carbon by 2016.

Conservatives

  • Permanently increase the stamp duty threshold for first-time buyers to £250,000.
  • Abolish Hips.
  • Reward councils for building more homes by allowing them to keep more of the proceeds from council tax and business rates from new development.
  • Create local housing trusts to allow communities to build affordable homes.
  • Abolish the unelected tier of regional planning, allowing local communities to determine the right level of development.
  • Give councils stronger powers to prevent infill development in suburbs, and build more family homes.
  • Give council tenants an equity stake in their home to restore pride in their area and encourage social mobility.

Liberal Democrats


  • Bring 250,000 empty homes back into use by giving owners cheap loans to renovate them.
  • Energy improvement packages of up to £10,000 per home, paid for by the savings from lower energy bills; new homes
  • To be fully energy efficient.
  • Repossessions will be stopped in cases where the lender has not pursued options.
  • A new planning “use class” for second homes, allowing communities to control the number of homes given over to holidaymakers.


Extract taken fro the Times online

 

 

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