Commission proposes more council tax bands and stamp duty reform

Commission proposes more council tax bands and stamp duty reform

A RICS Housing Commission report “More Good Homes and a Better United Kingdom” has been published which sets out a number of key recommendations for the housing market.

The proposals include scrapping stamp duty for people over the age of 65 downsizing from a larger property to a smaller one in order to encourage older people to move.

Permitting Local Authorities to introduce additional council tax bands was also suggested, with the extra income generated to be invested in social housing.

The commission was set up in January in order to set out recommendations for policy makers.

A key theme of the report was the need for long-term consensus on housing policy. An independent sector-led commission was suggested to advise the government on future reform.

Other key recommendations included doubling the target for releasing public land for residential development from 100,000 new homes to 200,000 by 2015.

Replacement of Right to Buy was proposed. The suggestion was a portable home ownership discount for tenants that display a capacity to save, avoid rent arrears and to manage their homes effectively.

Tenants would accrue a discount during the course of their tenancy, which they could access after three years in order to purchase a different property. The portable discount would be funded by the UK Government and integrated with their Help to Buy schemes.

What do you think of the recommendations? Do you think they would have a positive impact for conveyancers?

The full report can be accessed here.

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