Morning Briefing: Treasury mulls scheme to help private tenants buy own home

In the news

The Treasury is reportedly considering a thinktank plan to offer tax breaks to buy-to-let landlords to sell their homes to their tenants, in a bid to help the ‘generation rent’ contingent take the first step onto the property ladder.

The report, by thinktank Onward, says landlords are currently required to pay 28% capital gains tax, which would be waived with the benefit split between the tenant and the landlord.

Papers including The Guardian, The Times and the Daily Mail all report the plan is being considered for the Budget on October 29.

Elsewhere, Theresa May makes a pitch to woo former Labour voters to her party in an op-ed published in The Guardian this morning, which focuses particularly on last week’s decision to scrap the council borrowing cap in a bid to persuade voters that her party offers “a decent, moderate and patriotic programme that is worthy of their support”.

Elsewhere on the borrowing cap announcement, Philip Glanville, the mayor of Hackney, writes for Labour List to call it “a win for Labour but not a silver bullet”.

“Without reforms to Right to Buy, significant grant funding, better regulation of the private rented sector – where evictions are now the main cause of homelessness – and an end to damaging welfare changes on the most vulnerable, we risk not seeing a real change in the numbers of families unable to find or afford a place to call home,” he writes.

In CityMetric, Darren Baxter of the IPPR thinktank writes to describe the policy as “a big step forward”. He adds that more action is needed – including over the capacity of councils and the Right to Buy.

Money Week carries the latest long-read piece sceptical of shared ownership in two weeks – noting reports of poor-quality new builds, maintenance issues, leaseholder dissatisfaction and evictions.

It ends with a salutary warning for the sector: “Social-media buzz like this pushed leasehold into the public eye. It wouldn’t be a surprise if shared ownership is similarly scrutinised in the next year or so.”

Also this morning, the Financial Times reports on estate agent Knight Frank bucking the trend with boosted profits, and The Guardian covers Shaun Bailey (the Conservative pick for City Hall) facing controversy over some unfortunate-sounding comments about single mothers and council housing.