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Sunak plans to scrap stamp duty for first-time buyers and bring back Help to Buy
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has pledged to permanently scrap stamp duty for the majority of first-time buyers, while reintroducing the Help to Buy equity loan scheme.
Sunak (pictured) laid out his commitments to aspiring homeowners during the launch of the Conservative Party Manifesto from Silverstone in Northamptonshire.
The temporary change to first-time buyer relief – introduced by the Tories in September 2022 – that saw the nil-rate threshold lifted from £300,000 to £425,000 will remain permanently in place, he said, if the party is re-elected in July.
Sunak also promised to launch a “new and improved” Help to Buy scheme that would provide first-time buyers with a 20% equity loan to put towards the purchase of a new-build home if they contribute a 5% deposit.
In the manifesto, Sunak wrote: “First-time buyers will be able to get on to the housing ladder with a 5% deposit on interest terms they can afford.”
Landlords were also offered some tax relief. The Prime Minister has pledged to introduce a two-year temporary capital gains tax (CGT) relief for landlords who sell their properties to the existing tenants.
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Homebuilding and continuation of housing market schemes
A commitment to build more homes than had been delivered in the last Parliament was also made. Sunak said the Conservatives had delivered one million new homes over the past five years and, if re-elected, the party would go further by bringing forward 1.6 million more homes.
This would be done by speeding up planning on brownfield land in the country’s inner cities and scrapping EU laws.
Other pledges to continue existing housing market schemes included continuing with the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme, protecting Right to Buy discounts, and delivering the court reforms necessary to abolish Section 21 evictions.
Outside of housing, Sunak’s headline commitments were to apply a further 2p cut to employee National Insurance by April 2027 with a promise not to raise income taxes. The manifesto also promises to scrap the main rate of self-employed National Insurance by the end of the Parliament.