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Government measures to meet current challenges in the housing market
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Contact: Rachel Le Brocq Date: 11 Sep 2008 |
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On 2 September, the Government outlined a number of measures to “help first time buyers struggling to get onto the housing ladder, support vulnerable homeowners at risk of repossession, and support the house-building industry.” These measures included the announcement that stamp duty land tax will not apply to purchases of residential property of £175,000 or less. This relief will apply to transactions with an effective date on or after 3 September and before 3 September 2009.
Other measures included:
- Offering 10,000 first time buyers currently frozen out of the mortgage market the chance to get onto the property ladder through a new £300m shared equity scheme.
- Supporting up to 6,000 of the most vulnerable homeowners facing repossession to remain in their home through a £200m mortgage rescue scheme.
- £100m investment to support SMI reform which could help prevent a further 10,000 repossessions.
- A £400 million boost in spending power for social housing providers, including registered social landlords and councils, to deliver 5,500 more social houses over the next 18 months by bringing funding forward.
- Working with Regional Development Agencies to support the most critical regeneration schemes with the most potential to transform their communities.
