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Morning Briefing: Hammond defends stamp duty move

Philip Hammond responds to criticism of his stamp duty cut

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Morning Briefing: Hammond defends stamp duty cut #ukhousing

In the news

Philip Hammond’s big Autumn Budget headline - a removal of stamp duty for first-time buyers of properties up to £300,000 – has not got quite the reception he hoped.

The Office for Budget responsibility dismissed the measure, which will cost the exchequer £3.2bn in foregone taxes, as likely to benefit home owners not buyers by inflating prices.

But the chancellor was on BBC Breakfast this morning to champion the plans – apparently it will provide and incentive to save for a deposit.

“Hopefully, by abolishing stamp duty, which will save the average first-time buyer about £1,700, that will be a help and an incentive to focus on getting the deposit together, getting the money together to get on the housing ladder, and we hope that many more young people will be able to get on the housing ladder,” he said.

 

How Inside Housing reported the Budget in print this week
How Inside Housing reported the Budget in print this week

The average deposit for a first-time buyer is £33,000 nationally and more than £90,000 in London.

Elsewhere in the news, the BBC has an interesting interview with Edward Daffarn, the resident behind the Grenfell Action Group webpage on why his warnings weren’t heeded ahead of the fire. And housing blogger Dawn Foster writes in the Guardian that the Conservatives should be "insensible with shame" about the lack of funding for fire safety measures in the Autumn Budget.

On fire safety, we also have a couple of new lines for you this morning: the London Fire Brigade has issued 51 enforcement notices against high rises since the Grenfell tragedy, and an expert warns about the window panels on a tower block in Belfast. Read them here and here. Our digital edition, packed full of Autumn Budget coverage, is also available here.

On social media

Inside Housing’s Development Awards took place last night at a glittering ceremony in central London. The winners are here. Here are some tweets from the night.

KEY BUDGET MEASURES AT-A-GLANCE

KEY BUDGET MEASURES AT-A-GLANCE
  • Investment of £44bn in housebuilding in capital funding, loans and guarantees over the next five years to boost supply of skills, resources and land
  • Commitment to be building 300,000 homes a year by mid-2020s
  • £1.5bn package of changes to Universal Credit announced. This includes the scrapping of the seven-day waiting period at the beginning of a claim, making a full month’s advance available within five days of a claim for those that need it and allowing claimants on housing benefit to continue claiming for two weeks
  • Lift council borrowing caps in "high-demand areas"
  • A £125m increase over two years in Targeted Affordability Funding for Local Housing Allowance claimants in the private sector struggling to pay their rent
  • New money into Home Builders Fund
  • Extra £2.7bn for Housing Infrastructure Fund
  • Invest £400m in estate regeneration
  • £1.1bn on unlocking strategic sites
  • Stamp duty for first time buyers on properties worth up to £300k will be axed, while the first £300k on properties worth up to £500k will also be scrapped
  • Three new Housing First pilots announced for West Midlands, Manchester and Liverpool
  • Councils to be given the power to charge 100% council tax premium on empty properties
  • Government will launch a consultation to barriers to longer tenancies in the private rented sector
  • £38m for Kensington & Chelsea Council for mental health and counselling services, regeneration projects in areas surrounding Grenfell Tower and a new community space
  • Invest in five new garden towns
  • £125m increase in Targeted Affordability Funding for Local Housing Allowance claimants in the private sector struggling to pay rent
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