What Happens Next?
Here is a summary of the intentions of the Conservatives regarding the general aspects of property:
- Plan for councils to determine annual house building targets.
- Affordable home target value to be £275k by 2020.
- 200,000 new homes at 20% discount.
- Help-to-buy equity loan to be available until 2020.
- Aim to continue with current policies with further support to roll out neighbourhood planning.
- Garden cities where locally supported.
- Complete delivery of 10,000 new homes in the private rental sector below market rent.
- No rental cap to be imposed.
- Support voluntary model tenancy agreements.
- No development land tax.
- No mansion tax
- No new council tax bands.
- Continue current policies to reduce empty homes
The Conservatives are promising a “right to buy” scheme so that people renting in council or housing association homes will be able to buy them at a discount.
The party has also promised to build 200,000 “starter homes” which will also be sold off at a discount to people under 40, with a help to buy ISA to make it easier for people to save for their first home.
Meanwhile the party says it’ll unlock unused “brownfield” land - that’s former industrial sites, derelict areas and land that’s been set aside for development but not yet built on.
But what about people who are renting? The Conservative manifesto says it is “not fair that taxpayers should have to pay for 18 to 21-year-olds on jobseekers allowance to claim housing benefit in order to leave home.
"So we will ensure that they no longer have an automatic entitlement to housing benefit."*
