The Chancellor will give away half a billion pounds to second homeowners and landlords through the stamp duty holiday extension.
Labour analysis reveals this could have built nearly 3000 social rented homes – half the total that were built in England last year.
The Chancellor announced at the 2021 Budget that the current stamp duty holiday will be extended to 31st June. Rather than ending on 31st March, the nil rate of £500,000 will be in place until 30 June 2021. From 1 July to 30 September, the nil rate will be £250,000, before returning to the standard rate of £125,000 on 1 October 2021.
Treasury documents show that the Stamp Duty Holiday is set to cost £1.6 billion. In 2019/20, 34% of homes bought were second homes, buy-to-let properties and residential properties bought by companies. The Chancellor has therefore given a £545 million boost to landlords and second homeowners.
The Chancellor has faced criticism for his poorly targeted budget. 700,000 renters face a shortfall between their rent and support available through Universal Credit, yet the Chancellor chose to freeze Local Housing Allowance. Over half a million renters are already in arrears, yet the Chancellor announced no support to prevent a homelessness crisis when the evictions ban is lifted.
Thangam Debbonaire MP, Labour’s Shadow Housing Secretary, said:
“The Conservatives have shown once again they have the wrong priorities, giving tax breaks to landlords and second homeowners while failing to tackle runaway house prices and build truly affordable housing.
“After a decade of failure on housing, we needed a Budget that put us on the road to recovery and addressed the fundamental flaws in the housing market. Instead we got reheated policies with no new ideas on housing.”
