On 30th October 2024 the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves delivered the Autumn budget which we had previously been warned would be “difficult”. Below we have summarised the main housing points.
House Building
The chancellor advised that the government will invest more than £5bn to deliver their housing plan. She confirmed that they will increase their Affordable Homes Programme to £3.1bn, provide £3bn worth of support and promises to increase the number of homes and support small housebuilders. The right to buy discount will also be reduced and local authorities will be able to retain more money from sales.
Stamp Duty
The chancellor has confirmed that first time buyers will continue being exempt from paying stamp duty on properties up to £425,000, this is set to be reduced to £300,000 from the 1st April 2025.
Targeting landlords and those with second properties, the chancellor revealed that second-home buyers will have to pay an additional 2% stamp duty from the 31st of October 2024.
Cladding
The government will give £1bn to fast-track the removal of dangerous cladding on homes following the Grenfell Tower incident.
According to industry data, the expected wait for those looking to buy a property has dropped from just over 11 months to less than six months.
It is common for your first mortgage payment to be higher than your subsequent monthly payments for two reasons.
5 days ago
Firstly, a big congratulations, you’ve now exchanged contracts! After weeks and months of waiting, you are about to move in. What should you do first?
28 days ago
The chancellor will deliver her second budget this autumn. Due to slow economic growth and high inflation, the government need to manage a £40 billion shortfall in public finances. There have already been reports about changes to taxes including income tax and capital gains tax.
29 Aug 2025
The chancellor has advised that landlords could have another tax to pay this autumn as the Treasury decide whether to extend national insurance contributions to rental income.
According to a report in the Guardian, senior ministers have asked Treasury officials to look into a “proportional” property tax to see how it would work as an alternative to the existing stamp duty land tax on owner-occupied homes.
More than a quarter of UK adults in long-term relationships (26%) have reported that despite living together, they keep their finances separate from one another.
There has been a rise in both rent and mortgage costs over the last three years, with renters seeing a greater increase in their monthly payments than those with a mortgaged property.