By Debbie Franklin, Director of Tax and property tax specialist
In the Spending Review on 11 June, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that she will almost double the government's spend on affordable housing, with a 10-year £39 billion investment in a new Affordable Homes Programme. Investing in infrastructure and land remediation to deliver new housing schemes in partnership with the private sector is one of the ways in which the government intends to meet its commitment to build 1.5 million new homes.
The government will also address high home energy costs by improving energy efficiency through the Warm Homes Plan. The Warm Homes Plan will help to cut bills by hundreds of pounds per year for families across the country by upgrading homes through insulation, heating and solar panels.
From July, the government's UK-wide Mortgage Guarantee Scheme will become permanent to ensure mortgages remain available for buyers with small deposits.
Another measure announced by the Chancellor was a commitment to end using hotels to house asylum seekers by the end of this parliament.
To meet this commitment, the government has tasked contractors to source landlords with properties that can be used to house asylum seekers. One of the contractors, Serco, is seeking landlords in the North West, Midlands and East England with traditional HMOs, vacant family property, former care homes or residential/student accommodation. The scheme offers guaranteed rent over a five year period and landlords are invited to apply through Serco's online platform.