Given the challenge of making £15 billion worth of cuts topublic spending, today’s Spring Statement was never going deliver everything onthe property industry’s wishlist.
That said, two significant pieces of good news stand outamongst some otherwise depressing statistics. And this goes to show the faiththat the government has its our sector to deliver much needed growth.
Affordable Homes Programme
The first is the £2bn top-up for the Affordable HomesProgramme which will provide up to 18,000 new social and affordable homes.Since council housing effectively ceased four decades ago, the private rentedsector has fulfilled an important role in preventing homelessness. Today, withdemand for rental properties outpacing supply, it’s good to see the government helpingto address this need.
However, it seems a missed opportunity that the governmentrarely addresses social housing in its broadest sense – homes for sale as wellas for rent. At very little cost to the taxpayer, the government could do muchmore to champion shared ownership as an affordable and practical way ofaddressing this country’s housing crisis and enable first time buyers to get afoot on the housing ladder. Our shared ownership division, SOWN, is busier thanever responding to unprecedented demand from would-be-homeowners and yetgovernment announcements – everything from the Labour manifesto to the recentlypublished Planning and Infrastructure Bill – consistently fail to mentionshared ownership.
Funding for construction training
The £600m for construction training is also very welcome.But again, there is a cost-free solution to the skills shortage which has beenoverlooked. Again it concerns communication. The various trades and professionsthat make up the construction sector deserve greater respect and recognition.Tony Blair’s ‘education, education, education’ ethos which led to a significantincrease in young people pursuing academic courses had its benefits. But formany it resulted in an unusable degree and a delay in starting in a profession.The answer is two-fold: more vocational degree courses to equip people with thenecessary skills for the construction and property sectors; and a greater championingof the non-university route into these roles. This approach would deliver asaving to the Exchequer and a boost for the development sector.
Stamp Duty
There is undoubtedly a long-overdue need for a comprehensivereassessment of Stamp Duty. Unfortunately this may have to wait until a futurespending review, but in the meantime, I would hope that the government setsabout considering changes to what can be a very damaging tax – one that cancost the Treasury, rather than benefitting it, bearing in mind the unintendedconsequence of discouraging people to move up the property ladder.
The Renters’ Rights Bill
There’s much that needs to be changed in the Renters’ RightsBill before it is enacted - not least the courts process, the increase inallowable arrears and the abolition of rent in advance. It’s not a fiscalconsideration but it will impact considerable on costs to the government. So inthe context of toady’s spending review we call on the government to considerthe financial damage that the Renters’ Rights Bill will cause unlesssubstantially amended - a potential increase in homelessness and the resultantcost to the public purse – and look at making amendments to the Bill during itsfinal stages.
