Check out our quick guide to the key housing and mortgage pledges made by each political party in the run-up to the 4th of July general election
As Election Day draws closer, the voting public must make a decision about who they believe should run the country.
Housing, including mortgages, has been a key issue in the parties’ election campaigns, after several tumultuous years for homeowners.
Many potential buyers rightly feel that they have been priced out of the housing market due to high house prices, rising mortgage rates and affordability issues.
But those who have taken out mortgages are also plagued by high interest rates, which have pushed repayments out of control in many households, especially due to the cost of living crisis.
It’s fair to say that housing really matters to voters.
According to the Resolution Foundation, 11% of the population cited housing as one of the top three concerns facing the country in 2020. But in the run-up to these elections, that figure has more than doubled to 23%.
What has each party come up with for homeowners and starters? Do the Tories or Labor have more realistic and practical solutions to the housing crisis? Or does one of the other parties offer a better way forward?
While that’s up to you to decide, we have an at-a-glance overview of each party’s housing manifestos so you can see what they have to offer.
Conservatives
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak
Stamp duty – making the. permanent stamp duty break for first-time buyers, capped at £425,000.
Help with buying – revival of the scheme that allows first-time buyers to buy a new-build home with a 5% deposit using a government share loan.
Mortgage guarantee scheme – the Tories have promised to continue with it the schedule which, thanks to government support, makes it less risky for lenders to provide mortgages with small deposits to first-time buyers
Housing – to build £1.6m of homes across England in the next parliamentary term. (To achieve this target, the Resolution Foundation said 300,000 homes would need to be built each year for the next five years).
Capital Gains Tax – this is one for the landlords and real estate investors. Tories will introduce tax relief if landlords sell their properties to existing tenants.
Ground lease – they will continue the leasehold reform process, capping ground rents at £250 and then reducing them to peppercorns over time.
Work
Keir Starmer, leader of the Labor Party
Stamp duty – increase stamp duty by 1% on residential property purchases by non-UK residents
Mortgage guarantee scheme – Labor plans to make the scheme, which has been in place since 2021, permanent. Renamed Freedom to buy, it will increase the availability of mortgages with small deposits of up to 5% for first-time buyers.
Housing – the party said yes Build 1.5 million new homes reform the planning system during the next parliament and adopt a ‘brown field first’ approach to construction.
First buyers – will have the first chance to buy homes before international investors, before any homes are even built.
Ground lease – ban new leasehold flats and make commonhold the standard and implement proposals from the Law Commission on voting rights, right to management and commonhold.
Liberal Democrats
Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats
Rent to own – a social housing scheme to help people who cannot afford a deposit to own their own home. In this model, rental payments offer tenants an increasing interest in the property and they can own it outright after 30 years.
Housing – Build 380,000 homes a year across Britain, including 150,000 social homes a year. This will be achieved through the creation of new garden cities and community-led development of towns and villages.
Mortgage rates – the manifesto says the party will ‘bring mortgage rates under control through careful economic management’.
ground lease – abolish leasehold and limit ground rent against ‘nominal compensation’
SNP
Help buying ISA – SNP promised to reintroduce a simplified scheme to help first-time buyers save for their first home.
Green party
Housing – 150,000 new social homes are added every year
Retrofitting – The Greens will introduce a programme renovate houses. This provides insulation, clean heat and start and adjustments for more extreme climate conditions.
Reform
Stamp duty – new rates will apply as follows: 0% on properties under £750,000, 2% on properties from £750,000 to £1.5 million and 4% on properties over £1.5 million.